Slimming World
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Alfreton, Derbyshire England |
| Key people | Margaret Miles-Bramwell (Chairman) |
| Products | Weight loss |
| Employees | 215 (head office/field management), 3,000 (consultants)[1] |
| Website | www.slimmingworld.com |
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Slimming World is the largest UK-based weight loss organisation. It holds almost 6,000 weekly groups around the UK, led by 2,500 trained consultants, who are self employed. According to the company, over the past 40 years more than five million slimmers have attended its groups and lost over 60 million pounds.[1] On average 300,000 people attend a Slimming World group each week.
Slimming World claims its members lose weight through a combination of its 'Food Optimising' eating plan,[2] moderate activity through its 'Body Magic' programme[3] and group support and shared experience with other slimmers, which encourage behaviour change.
Joining Slimming World costs £10 and the weekly group fee is £4.50, though regular special offers apply including discounts for students and senior citizens.[4] At a group, members are weighed and their weight change is shared with the group. A member's actual weight is confidential, and is never revealed to the group.[5] During the hour-long session, members share their experiences of the preceding week, discuss their weight losses or gains, and share ideas and strategies for the week ahead, during a session called 'IMAGE' (Individual Motivation And Group Experience) Therapy. Members share practical advice such as recipe suggestions, as well as strategies to cope with times when motivation is low.
In 2003 Slimming World launched a programme for 11- to 15-year-olds which currently no other weight loss organisation in the UK has implemented. Through the 'Family Affair' programme, children between the ages of 11 and 15 can attend Slimming World for free if accompanied by their parent or guardian.[6] They follow a special eating plan called Free2Go which encourages them to make healthy swaps, such as replacing high fat foods such as pizzas or milkshakes with healthier yet practical alternatives. The British Dietetic Association reports that the support is specifically designed for young members and that a number of Primary Care Trusts and GP surgeries have referred young people to the scheme.[7]
Slimming World was founded in Derbyshire in 1969 by Margaret Miles-Bramwell, who remains its chairman. Caryl Richards has been managing director of the company since 2001.[1]
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[edit] Food Optimising
Slimming World states its eating plan, 'Food Optimising',[8] is a "flexible, empowering, permissive approach to healthy eating". There is little or no weighing and measuring and no calorie counting involved. Food Optimising is purportedly based on the scientific principles of satiety (the satisfying qualities of food) and energy density, and encourages slimmers to fill up on nutritious, low energy, dense foods to satisfy their appetite, while limiting consumption of less satisfying, high energy dense foods. Unique to food optimising is the unlimited choice of many 'free foods' which can include lean meat, fish and poultry, pasta, rice and grains, vegetables and fruit, which may be eaten freely. To help ensure a balanced diet, daily portions of 'healthy extras' are permitted, including bread, cereals, cheese and milk. Finally, controlled portions of higher calorie, less filling foods are included, such as crisps, wine, chocolate and sauces. In Food Optimising these are called "syns". Most adults have a daily syn "allowance" of between 5 and 15 syns.[1]
Food Optimising has a variety of plans, which may be followed on a daily basis as the slimmer chooses:[2]
- 'Original plan': Free foods include most fruit and vegetables, fish, lean meat and poultry and eggs. Healthy extras include bread, cereals, cheese, milk and carbohydrates such as wholemeal pasta, potatoes, grains and beans.
- 'Green plan': Free foods include most fruit and vegetables, pasta, rice, potatoes, grains and eggs. Healthy extras include bread, cereals, cheese, milk and protein such as lean meat, poultry and fish.
- 'Extra Easy plan': Introduced in January 2009, this introductory plan merges the free foods of Green and Original, giving a wider choice of free foods. Healthy extras include bread, cereals, cheese and milk.
[edit] Activity
Slimming World encourages members to introduce activity into their daily lives through its 'Body Magic' programme. The emphasis is on introducing activity gently at first, such as getting off the bus a stop early a couple of times a week, or walking up two flights of steps instead of taking the lift occasionally, then on finding forms of activity which can be integrated into everyday life. Members achieve bronze, silver, gold and platinum Body Magic awards. Platinum is achieved when members are routinely active/exercising five times a week for thirty minutes at a time.[citation needed]
[edit] Group support
The support of the consultant and other members is an important part of Slimming World's methods. When a member is losing weight successfully they receive praise and inspire the rest of the group to do well; when they are struggling to lose weight, they have support and practical advice from the group to help them get back on track.[citation needed]
The support continues outside the group via contact and support from the consultant, other members and through the free website, 'LifelineOnline'. The website contains an online "syn-check", recipe ideas and support.[9] Other weight loss organisations[who?] charge for a similar feature.[10][11]
[edit] Health and pregnancy
Slimming World is the only weight loss plan which encourages women to manage their weight healthily during pregnancy. Its pregnancy programme, created in conjunction with the Royal College of Midwives, is designed to ensure that mums-to-be and breastfeeding mothers can continue to manage their weight, with the consent of their midwife.[citation needed]
[edit] Slimming World on Referral
In 2001, Slimming World pioneered 'Slimming World on Referral' in the UK, whereby GPs can 'prescribe' attendance of a group for 12 weeks, free to the patient and subsidised by Slimming World. So far Slimming World has worked with more than 50 Primary Care Trusts and in excess of 22,000 people have used the scheme. Working with university researchers and specialists in obesity, Slimming World also supports an active research programme to further knowledge of its causes and treatment.[12]
[edit] Company history and products
The company began in 1969 with a handful of groups in Derbyshire and expanded into Yorkshire. By the 1980s, Slimming World had 700 classes in the UK and by 2009 there were 6,000 groups.[13]
Slimming World magazine was launched in 1998. It is the UK's best-selling slimming title, and in 2008 sales exceeded 286,000. [14]
Slimming World also publishes a range of recipe books and directories available to members in group.
Slimming World's charity, 'SMILES', was launched in 1997. SMILES stands for "Slimmers Making It a Little Easier for Someone", and since 1997 it has raised more than £1,750,000 for charity.[15]
Founded on the methods and principles shared in Slimming World groups, an online weight loss programme, 'bodyOptimise', launched in 2004, offering a service to slimmers who cannot or would rather not attend a group. As well as unique support based on each member's weight change, members can log their daily food, plan menus, search filling, family-friendly recipes, share their own successes and more.[16]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Slimming World - About us
- ^ a b Food Optimising Plan
- ^ Slimming World - Get Fit For Life
- ^ Slimming World Special Offers
- ^ Slimming World - What to expect in group
- ^ Free2Go - 11-15 year olds
- ^ British Dietetic Association - Slimming Club reducing weight amongst teenagers
- ^ Slimming World - Food Optimising
- ^ Slimming World Lifeline Online
- ^ Out of Class support
- ^ Weight Watchers eSource
- ^ BBC News
- ^ Westbridgefordtoday.co.uk - Mansfield entrepreneur Margaret Miles-Bramwell
- ^ Slimming World Magazine
- ^ SMILES
- ^ bodyOptimise.com
[edit] External links
- Slimming World official website
- BodyOptimise Slimming World's online service
- ciao.co.uk Customer Reviews of Slimming World
- Malgra An introduction to the Food Optimising Plan
