Helping young people stay in shape

13 May 2011

Obese young people can now get more help after a team of experts won £50,000 from an NHS Dragons' Den competition.

The cash will go towards setting up the groundbreaking Adolescent Specialist Weight Management Service. This will be able to look at all the factors that lead to obesity and offer long-term support to young people in east Kent aged 11 to 17, and their families. 

The project involves a wide range of health professionals including a GP, school nurse, Kent Community Health staff, as well as a Kent County Council dietitian and a sports officer. 

They will tackle all the issues that surround a young person’s weight. This includes offering psychological and counselling support as well as physical activity and dietary advice. Support will be given intensively at first and then gradually reduced during 12 months to make sure the young people change their behaviour. The long term aim is to prevent them from becoming obese adults.

Currently, young people who are morbidly obese may also have more complex issues and are often accessing treatment that brings limited success. Some programmes are delivered by non-experts who are not always able to deal with all the issues that contribute to a young person’s obesity problem. They may also attend programmes alongside other children who may only be slightly overweight and have different demands.

The service was awarded £50,000 from the Department of Health’s Transforming Community Services Leadership Challenge funding for the South East region. This was open to all doctors, nurses and other health workers in Kent, Surrey and Sussex who had an idea that could improve community services in their local area. Ten teams came together from hospital trusts, mental health, social care and community organisations and went head to head in pitching ideas to NHS specialists in a Dragons' Den-style competition.

Sarah Hohler, KCC Cabinet Member for Education, Learning and Skills, said:

“I’m delighted that Kent County Council is part of this project. This is a huge opportunity to reinforce the message that sport and physical activity play a crucial part of living a healthy lifestyle, alongside a balanced diet. As well as the young people themselves, we will work with their families and schools to increase the chances of long term success.

“This project will be developed by talking to young people to meet their needs and putting them at the heart of the service.”

For more information on the service contact Claire Glazzard claire.glazzard@eastcoastkent.nhs.uk or call 01304 828712.