Bradford College

College Tackles Obesity

Professor Paul Gately is an expert in obesity and weight management.  He’s worked with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, on a two part TV documentary to offer help and advice to a family in Hull on healthy eating with a low budget. He has now joined forces with Healthy College Manager, Jane Marshall to tackle obesity in 16 to 25 year olds, with a pioneering new ‘Weight Management Programme.’

Jane Marshall is the pioneer behind the success of Bradford College gaining Healthy College Status and has recently been praised by the government for her work in this field.  Paul Gately, PhD, is Carnegie Professor of Exercise and Obesity and Technical Director of Carnegie Weight Management at Leeds Metropolitan University.  He runs the successful Carnegie International Camp and community based weight loss club programmes throughout Britain.  He recently contributed to the International Obesity Task Force/World Health Organisation’s report on childhood obesity.  He is a frequent consultant to government agencies, health organisations and corporations throughout the UK and internationally.

Jane Marshall and Professor Paul Gately are keen to tackle obesity as there is growing concern that obesity looks likely to surpass smoking as the greatest cause of premature loss of life. It is one of the greatest health concerns in the Western world. Despite media coverage promoting the benefits of adopting a healthier lifestyle and healthier foods, obesity has grown by 400% in the last 25 years! 

Explaining how the idea for the ‘Weight Management Programme’ came to fruition, Paul said:  “Jane and I had a conversation about the amazing facilities they’ve got here at Bradford. During the conversation we realised there is a major opportunity given the population of the College. In terms of my knowledge of the research area, I’m not aware of much work that has gone on for this specific age group.  We saw it as an ideal opportunity to work in partnership to design a new programme that is totally aligned with the Healthy College Status for Bradford College - and very relevant to the students and staff at Bradford.”

Paul has successfully set up and managed more than 10 Weight Management Programmes and Camps for children suffering with obesity. Paul explained:  “It’s my life mission to design, develop and deliver the most successful weight loss programmes for children anywhere in the world.”

The five week ‘Weight Management Programme’ will offer students advice on nutrition and physical activity. Students will be asked to complete a two week food diary and the results will be analysed by a team of Carnegie Weight Management experts.  The findings will then be used to implement the ‘Weight Management Programme’ and healthier lifestyles for the students involved.

The ethos of the programme will be similar to that of American camps, but how weight loss is achieved will be different. A scientific approach will be taken rather than a heavily regimented regime of losing weight through exercise and calorie burn, which is not an effective way to engage students. Paul did his PhD based on a US weight lost camp from 1992-1997.  He evaluated a residential weight loss camp as an intervention for the treatment of overweight and obese children.  He took the best bits of the US camp but removed the worst bits. Paul explained it was about having fun in an enjoyable and safe environment.  Other factors contributing to the success of the programme were engaging, motivating and supporting the children. His programme on tackling obesity has proven to be the most successful anywhere.

The College is currently considering extending the programme to the wider community with a range of programmes currently in the pipeline for staff, students and the Bradford community.

Paul added: “It’s really utilising the strengths and skills of the people around Bradford College to improve the health and wellbeing in line with the Healthy College agenda, whilst also having a wider benefit for the local community.  It’s a fantastic opportunity to work in partnership and achieve some real good.”

Rachel Hardaker, Programme Co-ordinator for Carnegie Weight Management, commented on the benefit of the new programme for students. Rachel said: “I think it will be absolutely brilliant!  It’s such a great age group to be working with.  I’m quite excited as I’m young… I’m early 20s, so I’ll hopefully be able to provide a different insight into what people my age feel about such health initiatives.”

Speaking about the new ‘Weight Management Programme’ and the exciting new partnership with Professor Paul Gately, Jane remarked: “It’s a really exciting project.  It’s in an area that has not been explored before on this scale for 16 to 25 year olds.  It’s perfect for the College and once we’ve run a couple of pilots and got the course finalised, it’s going to be a really good course for students and the community to go on.”

Jane continued:  “It’s fantastic to work with Paul! He’s an expert in his field.  There isn’t anyone else I would want to start this project with as he’s got so much expertise in the area!”