LIFE, Lifestyle Management Programme
| Description | A weight loss programme focusing on lifestyle changes, and brief intervention training for frontline staff in the NHS, local authority and voluntary sectors. |
|---|---|
| Setting | Community |
| Populationting | Obese adults, aged 16 years and over, living in Blackpool |
| Intervention summary | Eight week group programme |
| Outcome Summary | Weight loss, waist circumference, hospital and anxiety depression scale, anecdotal lifestyle changes and life expectancy. |
| Startup Cost | |
| Running Cost | £150 000 over three years (£50 000 per annum) |
| Funding | Health Improvement Fund and Neighbourhood Renewal Fund |
| Started | January 2006 |
| Ended | December 2008 |
| Location | Blackpool, England |
| Contact |
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Background
LIFE is a weight loss programme that focuses on lifestyle, looking at diet and physical activity in its broadest sense. This programme includes: understanding the balance of good health; ways to reduce fat, salt and sugar; understanding food and food labels; and incorporating physical activity into daily routines to not only lose weight, but to also maintain a healthy weight loss and improved lifestyle.
The LIFE programme works closely with the mainstream GP referral programme and related teams such as the walking, cycling and swimming programmes. Other duties include brief intervention training on the balance of good health, which is open to all NHS, borough council and voluntary sector frontline staff working in Blackpool. This will backed up at a policy level to develop a consistent healthy eating policy across Blackpool. This is further supported by the inclusion of nutrition in the Sport England Alliance, Blackpool having become a Sport, Nutrition and Physical Activity Alliance rather than a Sport and Physical Activity Alliance.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
Through our obesity pathway it was estimated that Blackpool has over 45 000 residents with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 28.
What local organisations are involved?
Blackpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Blackpool Borough Council
How many people are running this project and who are they?
The programme is delivered by three full time lifestyle facilitators, employed by Blackpool PCT.
What local population are you targeting?
We are targeting obese adults (aged 16 years and above) with BMI greater than 28 with co-morbidities or BMI >30 who live in Blackpool. We are focusing on the most deprived wards of Blackpool: Grange Park, Southshore and Central, Talbot and Brunswick, and Claremont Wards.
How many people are you targeting?
Not known.
Interventions
What interventions are you using to address the problem?
Individuals are referred to the LIFE programme via GP practices. They then receive a one to one consultation before embarking on an eight-week group programme delivered in a community setting. The programme consists of two one-hour educational sessions, covering the principles of healthy eating and physical activity, looking at how we can adjust and improve our lifestyle to benefit health and weight loss. Nutritional sessions cover the “balance of good health”, understanding food labels, basic cooking skills, tips and advice to overcome problem areas, triggers for over eating and making better choices. The physical activity sessions cover how to increase levels of activity through adjusting lifestyle and introducing further programmes such as walking, Active 4 Health (a sports centre based programme) and loans pedometers to encourage participants.
Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.
No.
Outcome
What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?
We are measuring: weight loss; waist circumference; hospital and anxiety depression scale; anecdotal lifestyle changes (for instance, increase in level of physical activity, reduced level of smoking, alcohol and improved level of wellbeing); and life expectancy.
Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?
Small numbers of patients have been through the programme to date but we are seeing a positive response to the programme.
Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?
Public Service Agreement 3: To halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole 1 .
Feedback
What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?
The referral pathway has created barriers as we currently only accept clinical referrals and so numbers have increased slowly. We are now looking at a non-clinical referral pathway to increase the numbers and sessions available.
What have you learned about the project so far?
The project in its early stages and it is difficult to comment on yet.
What would you do differently?
We would consider setting up a non-clinical referral pathway sooner if we were to start again.