references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . august 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message slimming world type private founded 1969 headquarters alfreton derbyshire england key people margaret miles bramwell chairman products weight loss number of employees 250 head office field management 3 500 consultants 1 website www.slimmingworld.co.uk a slimming world branded car in london slimming world is a uk based weight loss organisation . slimming world s members follow a food optimising eating plan 2 take moderate activity through its body magic programme 3 and have group support through shared experience with other slimmers to encourage behaviour change called image therapy . slimming world s eating plan is based on the science of satiety the satisfying qualities of food and energy density . 4 foods that satisfy the appetite and are low in energy density such as fruit and vegetables pasta potatoes fish and lean meat are called free foods and can be eaten without weighing counting or measuring . foods which are often banned on other weight loss plans are allowed within food optimising and these are controlled by a syns counting system . slimming world s image individual motivation and group experience therapy group support system uses elements of transactional analysis motivational interviewing influence of ego states on behaviour and more recently compassionate mind theory . 5 during the hour long group support session members share their experiences of the preceding week discuss their weight losses or gains and share ideas and strategies for the week ahead . members share practical advice such as recipe suggestions as well as strategies to cope with times when motivation is low . at group members are weighed and their weight change is shared with the group . a member s actual weight is confidential and is not revealed to the group . 6 slimming world was founded in derbyshire in 1969 by margaret miles bramwell who remains its chairman . caryl richards has been managing director of the company since 2001 . 1 contents 1 company history 2 diet overview 2.1 efficacy 2.2 food optimising plan 2.3 physical activity 2.4 group support 2.5 health and pregnancy 3 see also 4 references 5 external links company history edit previous logo 2007 2009 the company began in 1969 with a handful of groups in derbyshire and expanded into yorkshire . by the 1980s slimming world had 700 classes in the uk and by 2012 there were over 10 000 groups making it the largest slimming club in the uk and ireland . slimming world s charity smiles was launched in 1997 . smiles stands for slimmers making it a little easier for someone and since 1997 it has raised more than 2 500 000 for charity . 7 slimming world magazine was launched in 1998 . in 2013 sales exceeded 447 000 per issue . 8 slimming world also publishes a range of recipe books and directories available to members in group . in 2001 slimming world pioneered slimming world on referral in the uk 9 whereby gps can prescribe attendance of a group for 12 weeks . in 2011 a paper published in the journal obesity facts showed that patients attending at least 10 out of 12 sessions achieved a clinically significant weight loss of 5 % of their body weight . 10 slimming world works with around 60 health authorities and by april 2011 in excess of 100 000 people had used the scheme . 11 in 2003 slimming world launched a programme for 11 to 15 year olds . through the family affair programme children between the ages of 11 and 15 can attend slimming world if accompanied by their parent or guardian and with the permission of their gp . they follow a special eating plan called free2go which encourages them to make healthy swaps such as replacing high fat foods with healthier alternatives . the focus of the programme is on healthy eating rather than weight loss . 12 an online weight loss programme was launched in 2004 offering a service to slimmers who do not attend a group . originally called bodyoptimise it was renamed as slimming world online in 2011 . the services offered by slimming world online mirror those supplied by a group . diet overview edit efficacy edit in its 2014 guidance the united kingdom s national institute for health and care excellence nice lists the slimming world programme alongside the rosemary conley and weight watchers programmes as being effective at 12 to 18 months . 13 a comparative study of 2011 found that in common with some other weight loss programmes used in primary care slimming world s regime did not help people achieve weight loss any better than increasing exercise levels alone . 14 15 food optimising plan edit slimming world states its eating plan food optimising is a flexible empowering permissive approach to healthy eating . there is little or no weighing and measuring and no calorie counting involved . food optimising encourages slimmers to fill up on nutritious low energy dense foods to satisfy their appetite while limiting consumption of less satisfying high energy dense foods . unique to food optimising is the unlimited choice of many free foods which can include lean meat fish and poultry pasta rice and grains vegetables including potatoes and fruit all of which may be eaten freely without weighing or measuring . to help ensure a balanced diet daily portions of healthy extras are permitted including bread cereals cheese and milk . finally controlled portions of higher calorie less filling foods are included such as crisps wine chocolate and sauces . in food optimising these are called syns . most adults have a daily syn allowance of between 5 and 15 syns . 1 food optimising has a variety of plans which may be followed on a daily basis as the slimmer chooses and is suitable for all types of dietary preferences including vegetarian and vegan . no food is banned . extra easy plan free foods include most fruit and vegetables fish lean meat and poultry and eggs pasta potatoes grains and beans . healthy extras include bread cereals cheese and milk . original plan free foods include most fruit and vegetables fish lean meat and poultry and eggs . healthy extras include bread cereals cheese milk and carbohydrates such as wholewheat pasta potatoes grains and beans . green plan ideal for vegetarians free foods include most fruit and vegetables pasta rice potatoes grains and eggs . healthy extras include bread cereals cheese milk nuts & seeds and protein such as lean meat poultry and fish . physical activity edit slimming world encourages members to introduce physical activity into their daily lives through its body magic programme . the emphasis is on introducing activity gently at first such as getting off the bus a stop early a couple of times a week or walking up two flights of steps instead of taking the lift occasionally then on finding forms of activity which can be integrated into everyday life . members achieve bronze silver gold and platinum body magic awards . platinum is achieved when members are routinely active exercising five times a week for thirty minutes at a time . this is in line with government activity guidelines . 16 slimming world has signed up to the department of health s public health responsibility deal and has pledged to encourage its members to build activity into their daily routine . 17 since 2011 slimming world has supported more than 150 000 people to become more active . 17 group support edit the support of the consultant and other members is an important part of slimming world s methods . when a member is losing weight successfully they receive praise and inspire the rest of the group to do well ; when they are struggling to lose weight they have support and practical advice from the group to help them get back on track . citation needed . motivation of members is regenerated each week at the group and slimming world believe the level of compassion respect and care shown to members is a key part of the member s success . the support continues outside the group via contact and support from the consultant other members and through the website lifelineonline and a free members smartphone app . the website contains an online syn check recipe ideas and support . 18 health and pregnancy edit slimming world works in partnership with the royal college of midwives and is the first national slimming organisation to support pregnant and breastfeeding mums to manage their weight healthily during pregnancy . 19 it states that its pregnancy programme is designed to ensure that mums to be and breastfeeding mothers can continue to manage their weight with the consent of their midwife . 19 slimming world s pregnancy policy was devised in collaboration with the royal college of midwives . see also edit dieting list of diets references edit a b c slimming world about us food optimising plan slimming world get fit for life j. stubbs s. whybrow j. lavin 2010 . dietary and lifestyle measures to enhance satiety and weight control . nutrition bulletin . volume 35 issue 2 . p113 125 slimming slimming world health website facilitating behavioural change slimming world what to expect in group smiles durrani a february 2103 magazine abcs the top 100 at a glance for last six months of 2012 media week lavin j. et al 2006 feasibility and benefits of implementing a slimming on referral service in primary care using a commercial weight management partner . public health . 2006 sep ; 120 9 872 81 stubbs j et al 2011 . weight outcomes audit for 34 271 adults referred to a primary care commercial weight management partnership scheme obesity facts 2011 ; 4 113 120 slimming slimming world health website what is slimming world on referral slimming world website support for 11 15 year olds chapter 1 recommendations managing overweight and obesity in adults lifestyle weight management services national institute for health and care excellence 2014 jolly k lewis a beach j et al. 2011 . comparison of range of commercial or primary care led weight reduction programmes with minimal intervention control for weight loss in obesity lighten up randomised controlled trial . bmj comparative study . 343 d6500 . doi 10.1136 bmj.d6500 . pmc 3208022 . pmid 22053315 . comparison of range of commercial or primary care led weight reduction programmes with minimal intervention control for weight loss in obesity lighten up randomised controlled trial database of abstracts of reviews of effects centre for reviews and dissemination 10 october 2013 the authors concluded that the only programme to achieve statistically significantly greater weight loss than exercise only was weight watchers inside government new activity guidelines 2011 a b department of health public health responsibility deal slimming world promotes the cmo s physical activity guidelines slimming world lifeline online a b royal college of midwives media centre external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to 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