Compassion, understanding and care in weight loss
Slimming World welcomes the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) consultation on draft guidance for lifestyle weight management services announced today.
Dr Jacquie Lavin, Head of Nutrition and Research at Slimming World, says: “We are delighted with recognition in the new NICE guidance that being overweight or obese can have a serious effect on a person’s mental health as the result of stigma, bullying and discrimination. This is something that we’ve been lobbying for and advocating for many years. Slimming World was started 44 years ago out of a conviction that there was a lack of recognition that the burden carried by overweight people is two-fold. There’s the burden of excess weight itself and there is an often far heavier burden: that of shame, self-criticism and poor self-esteem. For many overweight people successful long-term weight loss can only be achieved by tackling these deep-seated emotional issues and support can only be effective when it is delivered with genuine warmth, compassion, empathy, respect and understanding. With decades of experience in supporting people to lose and manage their weight by adopting new healthy eating and activity habits as well as addressing these underlying psychological and emotional issues Slimming World has led the way in developing sophisticated support for individuals in a powerfully motivating group setting.”
To raise awareness of the of the need for compassion and understanding when developing programmes to support those who struggle with their Slimming World delivered a symposium attended by around 200 obesity researchers and health professionals on 'The essential role of compassion, understanding and care in weight loss’ at the European Congress on Obesity in May 2013.
Slimming World also welcomes the NICE recommendation that lifestyle weight management services cannot be about quick fixes. “We are extremely committed to the long term success of our members,” says Dr Lavin. “Slimming World has an ongoing research programme to measure and evaluate effectiveness of its support. Recent research1 has looked at the behaviour of successful group of 292 Slimming World members who had achieved and maintained their personally chosen target weight. The new habits formed by members who had maintained their weight loss over nearly a year included enjoying a regular diet of low energy dense foods without feeling hungry or deprived, ongoing group support and having the tools to help cope with small lapses in weight loss. Members reported changes such as eating less unhealthy snacks, less pre-prepared foods and more fruit and vegetables and cooking from scratch. The majority also reported becoming more active and in particular walking more regularly. We’ve used this insight to continue to develop our support programme.”
Since pioneering slimming on referral more than 12 years ago when a programme was first piloted with Southern Derbyshire Health Authority2 Slimming World has helped around 180,000 people referred by a health professional. Each week Slimming World supports ½ million members in 10,000 community-based groups across the UK and Ireland to successfully lose weight and adopt healthier lifestyle habits. – ends –
For more information about Slimming World’s evidence, research or referral programme, please contact public.relations@slimming-world.com
