300 people following national weight loss programme

A total of 300 people are following th national weight loss programme, L-Isfida ghall-Kbar Biss, in an attempt to reduce their expanding waistlines and make healthy eating a way of life.

The free 12-week programme, which kicked off two weeks ago, was geared for just 100 people, but following the huge response it was expanded to allow 180.

Another 120 people have started, or will soon start, following a heavily subsidised eight-week weight loss programme at Saint James Hospital focusing mainly on nutrition and motivation.

This challenge is the brainchild of popular television presenter Claudette Pace, who wanted to lose weight, while at the same time create an awareness on expanding waistlines in Malta.

Ms Pace joined forces with St James Hospital Group director Maria Bugeja to co-ordinate this programme and the Health Promotion Department, numerous fitness experts, nutritionists, psychologists, gyms and private entities have all been roped in to provide their services.

"I have already lost three kilos since we started this programme and all those taking part are also thrilled to see they are shedding weight," she said when contacted.

Ms Pace said that an interesting point which had emerged from this programme was the misconceptions many people had on food labelling. "People are misled by products that claim to be low in fat and sugar, for example, so it has been an enlightening exercise for many who are focused on changing their eating habits," she said.

Another factor which emerged was that the majority opted to skip breakfast, despite the fact that nutritionists have long been harping on the health benefits of the first meal of the day.

"We are also definitely seeing a lot of depressed people and this has been a common factor in most groups. Many have had serious problems that they dealt with by overeating. We have psychologists on hand to help them deal with these issues."

Many have been battling obesity for years and this programme has given them the chance to finally attain their goals through a supportive network.

"Everyone is hoping to adopt a healthy attitude for life. What has been inspiring is that families have been of immense support to push and encourage their relatives to lose weight. We have received some very emotional phone calls of gratitude from people and it's nice that we could have been of help," she said.

"The weekly meetings are keeping them motivated to exercise and eat healthily - it really has become a challenge between the groups to lose weight. They also share experiences on how to cook food in a certain way to make it tastier and they barter healthy tricks on how to cook potato wedges in the oven. Everyone is definitely making a great effort, from switching to wholemeal bread and guzzling lots of water," she added.

Ms Pace also said that people were starting to realise that being on a healthy diet did not necessarily mean having to starve.

"What we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, when you consider that 60 per cent of the population is either overweight or obese, but it's a start and it's been a great experience to see the perseverance of these people who are on a mission to change their life."

Ms Pace said that the team was in the process of contacting all those who had applied and any readers who have not been contacted yet can call on 7941-4345.