Kick start 2025 with free NHS weight loss support in Lambeth

People living in Lambeth can join a free weight loss and exercise programme that can help them shed the pounds and maintain a consistently healthy weight.

The 12-week programme run by Guy’s and St Thomas’ also offers people of black African or Black Caribbean heritage specialist advice on ways to lose weight while providing healthier alternatives to their favourite traditional dishes.

Lanceford Brown, 56, a civil servant from Stockwell has lost 8kg since joining the programme at West Norwood Health and Leisure Centre in October.

He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2009, and has been taking medication for high blood pressure since his mid-30s.

Mr Brown, whose parents are Jamaican, said: “I found the programme very educational. You can talk about putting food in a specific area on an Eatwell plate, but if you go to most Caribbean dinners you have to consider the height of the food too!

“The main thing that the programme has given me is structure – it allows me to plan my meals at regular times, I do my exercise at regular times and I stay away from processed food – everything in moderation.”

Classes are available online or face to face in healthcare settings, leisure centres or gyms in Streatham, Oval, West Norwood or Vauxhall.

Groups of up to 20 people meet for weekly one hour sessions run by the Trust’s Lambeth Healthy Weight Hub, which includes nutritionists and physiotherapists.

To take part people must either be referred by a Lambeth GP or can refer themselves. They must be a Lambeth resident with a body mass index (BMI) of between 30 and 40, or live in Lambeth and be Black African, Black Caribbean, Latinx or South Asian with a BMI of between 27.5 and 40.

Men who meet the criteria are being encouraged to take part, and there is a men’s only class available on Black Prince Estate in Vauxhall.

Half of people who attended the service between January 2023 and October 2024 were Black or Black British, and 57 per cent of people who attended had at least one obesity related condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

People who join do aerobics and stretching or strength and balance exercises. At the end of the programme participants can join any Active Gym in Lambeth, with a 50 per cent discount on membership.

Céline Causeret, a community health improvement coordinator at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “It’s never too late to do something, and something is better than nothing. If you do a little bit more physical activity you will start to see differences. A little bit of weight loss will help you in your daily life, and you will feel better.”

For more information about joining the programme visit: www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/lambeth-healthy-weight

Pictured top: Lanceford Brown, a civil servant from Stockwell has lost 8kg since joining the programme (Picture: Guy’s and St Thomas’)