Norfolk County Council offers free weight loss support to residents to help fight obesity

A new healthy weight campaign We Can Do This! that encourages adults in Norfolk to follow a healthier diet and find out how to achieve a healthy weight launches today.

As part of the support to help people eat more healthily and lose weight, Norfolk County Council's commissioned partners Slimming World and Your Health Norfolk are offering free, in-person group support sessions over 12 weeks to help you make gradual changes towards a healthy lifestyle.

Cllr Bill Borrett, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said, "Changing habits is not easy and that's why we've partnered with two excellent organisations who can offer expert help and support to losing weight and eating more healthily."

Norfolk County Council is offering a range of support including nutrition and exercise advice and for some people, free access to the support group network with Slimming World or Your Health Norfolk.

Cllr Borrett continued, "Everyone knows that being overweight can lead to health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease but it's never too late to make small lifestyle changes. Making small changes to your diet can help give you more energy. improve your mental health too. Eating healthily with the support of others in a group can really help make the difference."

Mark (53) was diagnosed with diabetes in November last year. He says, "I was offered medication but decided to try and change things through diet and exercise".

Mark heard about Norfolk County Council's Slimming World referral scheme from his wife's friend. "I'd done Slimming World in the past and it worked for me. I really wanted to get the diabetes under control, so I decided to give it another go.

"Within the 12 weeks I'd turned round my diagnosis and my blood sugar was well out of range of even the pre-diabetic stage. I lost 1 and half stone, now have loads more energy and can exercise for longer and my clothes fit much better!"

For anyone starting their journey to a healthier weight, Mark says, "Take full advantage of this amazing offer of help. For me, the 12 weeks was long enough to see a difference. You might have a week when you don't lose as much as you hoped but overall, you will definitely see the benefits."

People wanting to eat more healthily and improve their weight management are invited to visit the We Can Do This webpage to check if they are eligible to receive free sessions.

For those people not meeting the eligibility criteria there are lots of other useful tools, tips and support available through our Ready to Change site where you can take a quiz, get tips on how to make the changes you need, set your own goals and create eating plans.