Slimming clubs better for dieting than the NHS, according to study

A new study has claimed that programmes such as the Weight Watchers are more effective at helping people lose weight than the programmes offered by the NHS. The research, which was published in the British Medical Journal, also showed that the WeightWatchers programmen, and other diets such as those of Rosemary Conley and Slimming World, were cheaper than that of Size Dow, the health service’s programme run by advisers and dieticians.
The scientists monitored 740 obese or overweight people recruited from an NHS trust in Birmingham, with participants being separated into six groups and attending different types of weight loss class, including counselling sessions carried out at GP surgeries, one-to-one counselling in pharmacies and receiving vouchers for the local health club.
It was shown that people were able to lose more weight and stayed thinner for longer if they attended a slimming club as compared to having counselling at a doctor’s surgery or pharmacy.
Although participants in all groups experienced weight loss by 12 weeks, those in the NHS programmes were seen to have no more improvement than the group that went to their local fitness centre. After a year, those on all the programmes had experienced significant weight loss, apart from participants on the GP and pharmacy programmes. The Weight Watchers programme was the only one that saw significantly more weight loss than the control group, and also was the best attended.
The report stated “Commercially provided weight management services are more effective and cheaper than primary care based services led by specially trained staff, which are ineffective.”