We hope you all managed to catch our Young Slimmer of the Year 2009 Leanne Needham on GMTV last thursday. She made two appearances, first chatting to Penny Smith and later to Andrew Castle. If you missed it you can see the interview here.

Read Leanne's story and see her amazing transformation on the Slimming World website here...

Did you catch the Daily Star this morning? Looks like Brazilian football ace, Robinho is looking for a Slimming World group near his Man City base! 

If you want to join him, you can find your nearest group here...

Did you see John and Gill Whitelock, from Wendy George’s Sunderland group, who appeared in the Sun and on the GMTV couch, not once but twice on Tuesday! To watch them chatting to Andrew Castle and Kate Garraway go to http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=34544

Yet another Mr and Mrs Slimming World couple featured in this week’s Pick Me Up Magazine. Alison Wallace and Gareth McLean met and fell in love at Norma Green’s group in Ashington, Northumberland. Now 10 of their relatives also attend a group!

Last but by no means least, Helen Savill and David Llewellyn, from Janice Clark’s group in Newport, Wales, told Woman Summer Diet Special about how a holiday snap and wedding proposal promoted them to lose 10 stone!

If you and your other half would like to lose weight together, find your nearest group here... you're sure of a really warm welcome... and you could be on the GMTV sofa this time next year!

If you've seen the Mirror today, you'll already know about our amazing Greatest Loser superstars - 10 fabulous Slimming World members who have lost more than 130 stones between them! Visit the Mirror website to read more about them. Or visit Slimming World's website to hear from John Devonshire, from Llanrwst in Conwy, North Wales has been crowned Slimming World’s Greatest Loser 2009 after losing a truly astonishing 16st 9lbs.

John told us: “When I began my weight loss journey I decided that I wanted to lose at least half my body weight so that I can say ‘I’ve lost me’. Now, after losing 16st 9lbs I’m literally a new man.”

Managing Director Caryl Richards’ response to the first over-the-counter slimming pill, Alli, going on sale was published online in Medical News Today. "Doling out pills for weight loss is not a solution to obesity," Caryl told the health news website. "The key to successful and long-term weight loss and maintenance is to make healthy habits a part of your everyday lifestyle. Research has also shown that the support that people receive at a Slimming World group plays a key role in boosting self-esteem and confidence to make the changes and keep weight off in the long term. Plus Slimming World offers a more cost-effective solution at just £4.50 per week without any unpleasant side-effects."

You can read the full article - and rate it - here.

This is the 10th year that a Slimming World team will be taking on the 26.2 mile challenge in the Flora London Marathon next weekend (26th April) to raise money for SMILES – SMILES stands for SLIMMERS MAKING IT a LITTLE EASIER for SOMEONE. During 2009 all Slimming World’s fundraising efforts will go to raising money for the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal. Every single penny we raise will go towards helping the charity transform Childline and the NSPCC Helpline to answer many more calls for help.

Slimming World’s marathon team are: Kathryn Briggs and Paul Siddall from Head Office, Consultant Jo Gregory from Derbyshire, and members Lindsey Bellis from North Wales, Tracey Paveley (see photo below) from London, Iain Bullock from Somerset.

Anyone who’d like to pledge to the marathon team’s fundraising can do so via www.justgiving.com/paulsiddall

There are some fantastic things happening all around the country on Saturday 21st February to mark the launch of Slimming World’s Let’s Beat it Together campaign that will bring teams in the field and members together to shout the message to the world that Slimming World is the best solution to obesity. We thought you may want to join in the fun and take part in some of the activities around and about our home patch, so here’s a flavour of what’s planned

Bristol/Wiltshire 

• Eight consultants manning a stand in Willow Brook Shopping Centre, Bristol, all day Saturday
• Convoy of cars through Bristol and Bath with banners and balloons, 12 Consultants taking part.
• Walking party from venues in South Bristol to Cabot Circus Shopping Centre in Bristol City Centre with placards, wearing red ponchos etc.
• In Swindon supermarket promotions and a 40 for tea event in local garden centre.

Central

• Wolverhampton – Car convoy around venues with cars decorated, at each venue people dressed in ponchos and carrying placards will be getting out to march the streets
• Rally in Churchdown, Gloucester
• March through Telford visiting every retail park and supermarkets
• Stall in Leominster Market on Friday and march through High Town to Low Town on Saturday
• In the Forest of Dean the team is marching through all the main towns in the morning and meeting in Ross in the afternoon

Cheshire/Wirral/North Wales

• 24ft float driving around the Wirral. A DJ and chef from local radio station Seven Waves are also on board.

Derby/Notts

• Walk/march from Matlock to Darley Dale. Decorating bandstand at Matlock Park and Whitworth Centre, where there will be a raffle and displays
• Walk/march around Derby City Centre and then meeting at The Spot

Dorset

• Trolley dash from town to town around part of the district, from Blandford passing through Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Gillingham, Wincanton and Mere
• Promotion at the Dolphin Centre, Poole. Activities include competitions with prizes including healthy food hampers and a meal at a restaurant in Bournemouth called Ruby

East Anglia

• Market stall at Ipswich Buttermarket
• Stall and charity weight-in for the NSPCC at Stowmarket market
• Red double decker bus around Bury, Sudbury and Newmarket ending at Bury Cornhill in procession with Mayor
• Bike rally in Cambridge
• Charity cycle ride in Lowestoft
• Marches in March and Huntingdon
• 100 balloons being released

Essex

• Look out for our procession around Essex, with Dalek with a poster saying “Let’s Exterminate Obesity”

Hampshire/Isle of Wight

• Car convoys around the towns eg Southampton, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight. Cars decorated and everyone taking part dressed up in red ponchos, with placards etc.

Kent

• Car convoy travelling from one end of district to the other
• Marching in the streets
• Supermarket promotions

Lancashire

• Stall at Ramsbottom market
• Promotion at a fruit and veg stalls in Littleborough, Barrow in Furness and Dalton in Furness
• Coffee morning in Kendal
• Driving A-frame truck around Whitehaven and Workington
• Stall in Blackburn town centre and walking around town
• Stand by ice rink in Darwen, all members going dressed in red so they’ll be turning the ice rink red!

Leicester/Lincs/North Hants

• Around 80 people walking through streets and handing out leaflets dressed in red ponchos and cowboy hats, also at Fosse Park which is a big shopping centre in Leicester arriving in Slimming World decorated cars.
• Wedding fayre in Spalding
• March through streets in Spalding, members have paid to sponsor a heart
• In Corby, bandstand and town cryer.

Manchester

• Cook In in Cheadle with chef Diane Marsden cooking for members and friends
• Car convoy travelling around the area decorated with banners etc from Sale to Old Trafford to Stretford to Salford to Manchester City Centre, posters, placards and leaflets everywhere, people dressing up in posters and banners too
• Shop fronts decorated in Stockport
• Supermarket promotions

Merseyside

• Walk around Liverpool wearing ponchos
• Tasters at butchers that does Syn-free sausages and visiting a sausage factory
• Supermarket promotions around the district

Midlands

• Come and say hello at the Merry Hill Centre, Dudley

Northern Ireland

• Offering free BMI and Blood Pressure checks at the Tower Centre, Ballymena, as well as giving away balloons and goody bags to the first 250 visitors.

North London

• Teams walking between their group venues in Enfield, Whetstone, Finchley, Chingford, Walthamstow
• Stands in supermarkets and at car boot sales in Ilford and North London.
• Promotional event in Greenford High Street
• Market road show in East London.

Scotland East

• Walking around Strathclyde Park with ponchos and carrying balloons, Lord Provost of North Lanarkshire Tom Curley, who’s also a local councillor, is launching the walk with a balloon release

South West Scotland

• East Kilbride gazebo in town centre and holding fun day
• Two sponsored marches through the streets with people welcome to join as they go.

South Yorkshire

• Family fun day at Concorde Sports Centre in Sheffield
• Stall in Rotherham City Centre. Everyone dressed in red, offering free BMI checks, giving away balloons, and tables of Free Food
• Stand in Crystal Peaks Shopping Centre in Sheffield offering free BMI checks and info on losing 10% weight etc Also have food displays, balloons and leaflets
• Open-top bus travelling around Chesterfield which will then park up at the bus depot near the crooked spire and offer free BMI checks to passers-by.

This isn't an exhaustive list of activities, so you may well bump into some of our members and Consultants in your town too!  Come and say hello, find out more and join in our campaign - Let's beat obesity together!

Thousands of people all over the UK are taking to the streets this Saturday, 21st February, to support the first ever ‘Let’s Beat Obesity Together’ campaign, launched by Slimming World, the UK’s largest weight loss organisation. The campaign aims to get whole communities together to help tackle the UK’s spiralling obesity crisis.

It’s estimated that around 10,000 Slimming World members will join forces to help raise awareness of the growing obesity epidemic and its effect on individuals and their families. Members who are already feeling the benefits of the help available at Slimming World groups in communities all over the UK are encouraging friends and neighbours to join them, and take advantage of the support they need to lose weight and live healthier lives.

From Strathclyde to Sheffield, from Wolverhampton to Whetstone, Slimming World members are taking part in community events – marching with placards, travelling from town to town on open-topped buses and enlisting the help of local people. In Liverpool, dedicated campaigners will be riding a 26-seater bicycle to launch the campaign; while a bus will be touring Chesterfield to invite people to have their BMI checked, in Essex a 7 foot Dalek bearing the message ‘Let’s Exterminate Obesity’ is lending support!

Campaign organisers are aiming to spread the word that there is a real, sustainable solution to overweight and obesity, and that it’s available in every town in the country.

“Thirty million adults in Britain are overweight or obese and 1 million children are suffering from the effects of overweight to the point where their health and happiness is seriously at risk,” says Caryl Richards, Slimming World’s Managing Director. “It’s a timebomb that threatens the health and future of our society, and unless something is done, today’s children could be the first to die before their parents. We’re thrilled that our members are giving up their time and getting involved at ‘grass roots’ level to tell people in their own local communities that the problem is serious, that we can’t (as individuals) bury our head in the sand hoping it will go away, and that there is effective help at hand.

“The Government is spending millions of pounds to encourage the nation to make changes and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Raising awareness in this way is a start but education alone won’t do it. Individuals (and their families) need support to help them make changes to habits and routines they find it hard to break – and the Government isn’t able to harness real ‘people power’ in the way that we will be doing on Saturday 21st.”

Slimming World celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Each week 300,000 members attend 6,000 Slimming World groups in local pubs, village halls and community centres all around Britain – 30,000 young people between 11 and 15 years have attended group free of charge since the company launched its Family Affair scheme in 2006. This January, Slimming World has seen a 13% increase in membership, and opened 110 new groups.

“Despite the recession membership numbers are higher at the end of January than they have ever been,” says Caryl Richards, “Yet there are still thousands of people across the country who are desperate for clear and practical advice about how to live more healthily. It’s crucial that at community level people have access to the support that they need to become healthier and manage their weight, before the problem gets any worse.
“It’s time to harness the expertise of the thousands of trained weight management consultants in communities the length and breadth of the UK. And that’s just what this campaign aims to do”, promises Caryl.

Slimming World groups across the country will launch a week of activity, starting on Saturday, February 21st. Between then and March 7th, groups will welcome anyone who would like to find out more about the company’s unique support programme and how to make healthy changes for life.

Slimming World’s Let’s Beat It Together campaign takes place February 21st to March 7th. For more information about Slimming World or to find the nearest group, click here or call 0844 897 8000.

“What is obesity?”, “What makes us obese?” And, “what can we do to avoid becoming obese?”, were just some of the questions they posed. In 2008 the UK government’s Foresight report predicted that this generation of young people could be the first to die before their parents – because of the health risks associated with being seriously overweight.

Speaking to young people who are or have been overweight the BBC team, Charlotte Ashton and Anthony Baxter discovered that relentless bullying, low self-esteem, feeling left out, not being able to go out, not wanting to go on holiday, feeling trapped, are all part of the experience of being overweight. So it’s not just about the long term health risks, it’s also about getting the most out of life now.

The good news is that by making small but significant changes young people can avoid becoming a “fatistic”. At 14stone, Kirsty, who’d never worn high heels or a dress tells how she’s cut down on chocolates, crisps and white bread. While young Slimming World member 14 year old Taylor talks about how he swapped fatty meals for potato wedges and salad and inspired friends Stephanie and Shane to make similar changes.

Slimming World’s very own Young Slimmer of the Year, 2008, Jack Mitchell who lost 7½ stone over 2 years warns that if you do have any worries about weight, you should take action sooner rather than later. “Stop now,” warns Jack “because you’ll ruin your body.” And don’t think about taking slimming pills, because they’re not the solution.

So the messages are: Healthy eating and activity. It’s not always easy, which is why Slimming World offers free support to 11-15 year olds, and has created a special Free2Go eating plan that helps them to make simple changes to cut out the chocolates and chips and eat more healthily.

For more information about Free2Go visit our website. To read Jack's story on the BBC website  click here.

The government has today launched a healthy living campaign to stem the rising obesity rates in England warning that, left alone, obese and overweight people would cost the taxpayer £50bn by 2050.

The "eat well, move more, live longer" message of the "Change4Life" campaign isn’t a surprise to Slimming World members who do just that! With Food Optimising and Body Magic, they lead healthier, fitter lives… and pass those positive changes to their families too.

For forty years, Slimming World has been helping people all over the UK to make small changes to the way they shop, cook and eat, and to take realistic steps to become more active in their day to day lives. Hand in hand, with the powerfully motivating group support Slimming World is renowned for, hundreds of thousands of slimmers have lost millions of pounds and reaped the many health benefits associated with weight loss.  You can read their inspiring stories of success here…

Whether you want to lose weight to feel more energetic, to love the way you look, to lead a healthier life or to avoid health problems in the future, join a warm and friendly Slimming World group and start making easy, realistic change towards a healthy new you - for life.