National charity TOAST (The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust) has joined up with Ingatestone Garden Centre, 
Essex (IGC) to run a weight management programme that highlights the benefits of kitchen gardening as part of achieving a healthier lifestyle.
As part of the project IGC have donated a section of their nursery site for the project which has been unused for several years. The project aims to convert the site from a wasteland into a flourishing kitchen garden in just 12 weeks and will be run in conjunction with TOAST’s 12 week weight loss programme to help local people who are concerned about their weight to look at the reasons behind their weight gain and develop a new relationship with food.
Louise Diss, Managing Director of TOAST said ‘We know from research that people who become more involved in the preparation and cooking of their food make healthier choices in the long-term, this project aims to take that thinking a step further back and get people involved in the growing of food too.’
“Most overweight people have tried numerous diets and their sense of failure at being unable to maintain a healthy weight can lead to a number of self-esteem issues. This project will show them how to make lasting changes at the same time as having a tangible project to achieve. The supportive nature of the group helps people to recognise that they are not alone with this problem and they can support and encourage each other to look beyond the outward signs of their weight gain and find lasting solutions to achieving a healthier weight.”
IGC Director, Geoff Jones says ‘Like most people I was only too aware that there is a worrying obesity problem in this country. TOAST is the only national charity trying to combat the problem and when they approached us to for support we were happy to get involved. We felt that the physical activity of gardening complimented the educational element of TOAST’s programme very well. It’s going to be quite a challenge converting this site into a kitchen garden within the time frame but that’s what will make it fun.’
The 12 week programme comprises weekly two hour group sessions that will involve both gardening and behavioural work and aims to help people to change their attitudes to food, so that food is integrated into their lives rather than dominating it. They will have the opportunity to learn a set of skills that empowers them to make lasting and sustainable changes that will have a positive effect on their physical and mental well being. The programme is due to start as part of Obesity Awareness Week 11th-17th March 2007 and is open to anyone who feels they overeat or have a weight problem.
- ENDS –
Wednesday, 07 March 2007
All Media Enquiries: -
Murray Harkin – EP –
020 7100 6070
Or
Louise Diss - TOAST
01279 866010
Notes to Editors: -
The National Obesity Awareness Week [NOAW] has been organized by Britain’s largest obesity charity to create awareness and understanding for the 20 million Britons battling with obesity – a growing majority of which are children.
THE FACTS
• 1 in 4 women
• 1 in 5 men
• 1 in 5 of every child between 2-15 years of age - are obese.
THE COSTS [House of Commons Health Committee on Obesity]
• £3.3-£3.7 billion per annum for obesity
• TO £7.4 billion per annum for obesity plus overweight
• by 2025 a quarter of the NHS budget will be used to treat type 2 diabetes.
• 18 million sick days a year
• 30,000 deaths a year
• deaths linked to obesity shorten life by 9 years on average
WHO IS TOAST?
The only National Organisation to:-
• Provide a range of supportive services : -
o Counseling
o Telephone helplines
o Online Information Service
o Training packages for employers
• Demands that the overweight, obese, and their carers are treated with respect and dignity.
Fights prejudice and stigma.
• Works to combat the obesity epidemic in this country
• Advocates a range of preventative and therapeutic services to combat the epidemic.
• Works directly in communities to help people learn the skills to help themselves.
• Champions the need for prevention and needs - led treatment
