Weight loss project helps 16 footie fans lose nearly 9 stone

This project was one initiative set up by the Health Improvement Commission, which has now published its first report.

The HIC was established in October 2018 and was set up to ‘enable, empower and encourage healthy living’ in Guernsey and Alderney.

The commission was primarily responsible for the community-based delivery of the Drug and Alcohol Strategy and the Healthy Weight Strategy.

The latter was combined with the Be Active project that was previously delivered within education services and aimed at increasing children and young people’s physical activity, as well as a focus on everyday walking and cycling through new funding from the Environment & Infrastructure committee.

The result has been the establishment of four clear areas of work: Eat Well; Be Active; Healthier Weight; and Substance Use.

Among its activities has been providing service-wide training for health visitors to help families of young children increase levels of activity and healthy nutrition.

A collaboration with Guernsey FC to deliver a 12-week healthy living and weight loss programme delivered by GFC coaches to male fans of the club saw 16 men complete the programme who between them lost 56Kgs (about 8st 11lb) and a total of 112cm (about 44in) from their waistlines.

Among the HICs work focusing on schools and early years has been the training of 37 early years practitioners to increase the level of physical activity offered and School Nutrition Action Groups have been set up in secondary schools.

The Substance Use work has seen it help the Domestic Abuse Strategy team coordinate a conference attended by more than 100 people which explored the links between domestic and sexual abuse and violence, mental and physical ill health and the use of drugs and alcohol.

The HIC has also partnered with Specsavers’ creative team to develop the ‘It’s a Small Island’ anti-drink drive campaign that will now run year-round.

Towards the end of 2019, it co-funded a care leaver transition worker at Action for Children to support some of the Bailiwick’s most vulnerable young people.

This year the commission is set to move to new offices in the KGV facility.

Chief executive Dr Simon Sebire said it was delighted to publish its first report: ‘Our team have worked incredibly hard to create a new organisation, identify a clear vision and implement a range of evidence-based interventions which we believe will make a real difference to people’s health.’