Weight Watchers really does work, scientists claim
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
vanda
plodding away
Although I am doing well on ww myself to be fair I think any type of support can only help people to keep to a plan. In my experience most GPs dont really help much just tell you to eat less - ha if I could manage that I wouldnt have ended up so fat.
If GP surgerys ran weight loss clinics with regular weigh in/food advice and group support I have a sneaky feeling this would prove to be as successful as ww did in this article
If GP surgerys ran weight loss clinics with regular weigh in/food advice and group support I have a sneaky feeling this would prove to be as successful as ww did in this article
vanda
plodding away
I agree with you on this Starlight, but it would be difficult to police. How the NHS spends its money is opening up a can of worms, as a NHS employee myself I know about a lot of the unwise spending that goes on just in my field. I used to work with someone who was given NHS support to access the gym. A bit rich really seeing as she could well afford to pay herself. After all walking costs nothing
MadameLaMinx
Gold Member
Look at it this way. £45 for a course of 12 weeks at WW or a similar club, or 3-5k for gastric bands and other more severe treatments. I bet stuff like Xenical costs the NHS more than a 12 week WW pass too. And that is without even beginning to take into account the long term treatment of obesity related illnesses like type 2 diabetes. It's probably the most cost effective method for the NHS to access obesity support and treatment. After the 12 weeks, people are in the way of doing it, and have made friends in the group and are likely to continue to pay themselves to keep going because they will be seeing the results.
That said, the BBC version of this article is a little less biased in favour of WW and does state that it is slimming clubs in general that have this benefit overall. Weight Watchers helped to fund the study, and the people studied were using Weight Watchers, but I know for a fact that the NHS also offers Slimming World memberships, in some, if not all areas, and that really isnt reflected in this particular article.
That said, the BBC version of this article is a little less biased in favour of WW and does state that it is slimming clubs in general that have this benefit overall. Weight Watchers helped to fund the study, and the people studied were using Weight Watchers, but I know for a fact that the NHS also offers Slimming World memberships, in some, if not all areas, and that really isnt reflected in this particular article.
Just Peachy
Slowly But Surely
Those predictions are really frightening 
Starlight
Gold Member
Paying for a gastric band or Xenical (without prescription) is probably out of most peoples reach.
Going to WW every week is something most people can afford. I have no objections to the NHS funding it if its someone on a low income etc but why should the NHS pay my WW class fees when Im more than capable of paying the money myself. There are so many more better routes for that money than giving it to people who can afford to pay their way.
Starlight
Gold Member
Have you heard what the changes are?
mrsrobinson
Full Member
Weightwatchers change their plans every 2 years to try and attract lapsed clients back...
MadameLaMinx
Gold Member
I am on a low income but I don't have help to pay, I do it myself because i made the proactive choice to get healthy and shed the pounds. So I do see your point there. I also know that certainly in my area they have a scheme which is a little bit like an NHS version of WW, also a 12 week course of sessions with a weigh in each week, and you also get 12 weeks of membership of the local council sports facilities.
I do appreciate what you mean by the NHS funding something that could be paid for out of pocket, but dealing with the issues around obesity is fast becoming one of the nations biggest health risks. If you walk into the GP and say that you have tried everything and the GP says "Go to WW etc", without it being seen as treatment, I bet a fair proportion of the people wouldn't go. It was probably hard enough for them to walk into the GP and admit that they can't do this alone.
And much as it's wrong for them to be having to meet "targets" in the NHS, Medical staff will be under a lot of pressure to be cost effective. Say a gastric band op costs £5k. That helps just one morbidly obese person and may or may not be very effective long term, with no actual guarantee it will work. For the same money, you could send 100 people to a group like SW or WW for 12 weeks and if just a handful of those people manage to stick with it and lose some weight then overall that money had been better spent.
As I said, despite being on a low income I fund myself to go to group, and it does my selfesteem good because I am taking positive steps for me to feel better, no one made me do it, I just want to. I wouldn't be upset if someone that earnt good money got a 12 week pass, because they are still trying to do the same thing as I am doing, but their situation or medical need may be different.
I do appreciate what you mean by the NHS funding something that could be paid for out of pocket, but dealing with the issues around obesity is fast becoming one of the nations biggest health risks. If you walk into the GP and say that you have tried everything and the GP says "Go to WW etc", without it being seen as treatment, I bet a fair proportion of the people wouldn't go. It was probably hard enough for them to walk into the GP and admit that they can't do this alone.
And much as it's wrong for them to be having to meet "targets" in the NHS, Medical staff will be under a lot of pressure to be cost effective. Say a gastric band op costs £5k. That helps just one morbidly obese person and may or may not be very effective long term, with no actual guarantee it will work. For the same money, you could send 100 people to a group like SW or WW for 12 weeks and if just a handful of those people manage to stick with it and lose some weight then overall that money had been better spent.
As I said, despite being on a low income I fund myself to go to group, and it does my selfesteem good because I am taking positive steps for me to feel better, no one made me do it, I just want to. I wouldn't be upset if someone that earnt good money got a 12 week pass, because they are still trying to do the same thing as I am doing, but their situation or medical need may be different.
Starlight
Gold Member
They havent changed it in the years Ive done it. Discover Plan is the only change Ive known of and it wasnt really a change as such, its just emphasising sensible choices. They dont make changes that I can see
They have a hugely successful forumula. Theyve been doing points for years and years but theyre selling off all the books etc half price just now which theyve never ever done in the past, so it sounds like its a pretty major change
Starlight
Gold Member
I don't think so, not really. For instance most people on here who do WW do it alone with no classes. And even if you do go to classes you pay week by week
