I am sure the Portfolio Holder will join me in celebrating the phenomenal success achieved in the first season of Man vs Fat, undertaken by Medway Council at Strood Leisure Centre, which saw a record combined weight loss of 694.1kg for the 15 week season.
I am pleased that this initiative was both funded through our Public Health Team, and supported by the Medway Sports Team. The fight against obesity is a major challenge, which has been successfully hit head on through the Man vs Fat programme.
Following the start of a second season which is fully subscribed with a waiting list of over fifty people, I would like to know both whether there are any plans to start a second league within Medway (preferably in the East) and in doing so, due to this initiative being only for men, what other opportunities to improve health Medway Council provide for all other groups of people within Medway?
Minutes:
“I am sure the Portfolio Holder will join me in celebrating the phenomenal success achieved in the first season of Man vs Fat, undertaken by Medway Council at Strood Leisure Centre, which saw a record combined weight loss of 694.1kg for the 15 week season.
I am pleased that this initiative was both funded through our Public Health Team, and supported by the Medway Sports Team. The fight against obesity is a major challenge, which has been successfully hit head on through the Man vs Fat programme.
Following the start of a second season which is fully subscribed with a waiting list of over fifty people, I would like to know both whether there are any plans to start a second league within Medway (preferably in the East) and in doing so, due to this initiative being only for men, what other opportunities to improve health Medway Council provide for all other groups of people within Medway?”
Councillor Brake thanked Councillor Joy for his question and for highlighting a very successful public health project. He stated that he was extremely proud of the 80 Medway residents who took part in this pilot scheme and he congratulated them on their very successful weight loss. The Council was delighted with the results of the pilot and its impact. Man vs Fat had been added to the ever growing list of successful local interventions, to tackle the obesity challenge that Medway and the rest of the country faced.
He stated that Man vs Fat alone would not achieve the population level impact that the Council wanted and that success would only happen through a sustained series of actions by a wide range of local partners. Through the Medway Healthy Weight Network, the Council tried to encourage all Medway public, private, voluntary and academic organisations for their support. The Council took its role in creating a positive environment to support local people to maintain a healthy weight very seriously. The Council offered and delivered excellent weight management services. The Council’s work on planning, active travel and recreational offers, had been recognised nationally as an exemplar for others to follow.
He stated that in terms of Councillor Joy’s question about extending this programme, this was currently being explored by the public health team. Any investments made in new Public Health programmes would deliver the best possible impact on our population’s health. This programme had clearly delivered excellent outcomes for those people who attended it and this would be factored into the decision making whether to launch a second league. He stated that he shared Councillor Joy’s aspiration to continue this excellent initiative in Medway.
He also stated that work was underway to establish whether this type of initiative would work for women and in other sports. The Public Health Team was planning some pilot activity with the Council’s sports colleagues and the effectiveness of this work would be evaluated. The Council was launching a consultation the following week with residents to ask what digital weight management products they would like to see implemented. This would ensure that the Council continued its national reputation as a local authority that led the way on tackling obesity.