Healthcare professionals have praised a GP-based weight loss and healthy living campaign, which has demonstrated improvements in health.

The Lifestyle Improvements for Everyone scheme won the National Obesity Forum’s Primary Care Award for Excellence in Weight Management, the Best Practice Award from the Association for the Study of Obesity and The Patient Participation Award from The Royal College General Practitioners.

The scheme was run at the Spinney Surgery, Cambridgeshire, in conjunction with dietician Sandy Evans. Lasting eight months, the programme delivered healthy living information and advice to 129 participants.

Participants were split into 17 teams to group those with similar activity interests and maximise family and peer support. The teams were then awarded points for a variety of achievements including attendance at group meetings, team quiz scores and group assignments. Bonus points were awarded for team members exercising together.

Group meetings covered food, activities and health as well as talks from a variety of organisations including the Walking for Health Initiative.

A major component of the initiative was Evans’ ProHealth health, weight and lifestyle computer programme, which gave patients individualised BMI charts and daily energy requirements, blood pressure, waist circumference and weight graphs. A 5 per cent weight loss goal was provided for overweight patients.

Participants achieved significant health benefits associated with lifestyle changes with 85 people with a BMI greater than 25 losing an average of 3.2kg (7lbs) during the programme.

Fourteen of the participants moved out of the obese (BMI greater than 30) classification and eight people moved into the healthy BMI range.

Waist circumferences and blood pressure were also reduced.

More than 90 per cent of participants increased their fruit and vegetable intake and 84 per cent increased their levels of physical activity.