The Slimming World diet

 The Slimming World diet: What is it?

The Slimming World diet is run by a Derbyshire based weight loss company set up in 1969 by founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell.

The firm claims that the diet works by a combination of a technique known as 'Food Optimising', an increase in physical activity through its 'Body Magic' programme and a group support system called 'IMAGE therapy'.

Slimming World operates as a slimming club and says it has as many as 9,500 weekly support groups and more than 250,000 members attending each week.

It costs £10 to join Slimming World, followed by payments of £4.95 each week. Different fees apply to those who want to follow a diet online without attending group sessions.

The Slimming World diet: What you can eat

The centrepiece of the diet is a strategy called "Food Optimising" which attempts to be a permissive rather than restrictive way to shed the pounds.

Members can choose from a list of 'free foods' which are selected for being healthy and making people feel full faster and for longer. These include fruit and vegetables, pasta, rice, potatoes, eggs, lean meat and fish.

Free foods can be eaten in unlimited quantities.

As well as free foods, members can select measured amounts of foods known as "'Healthy Extras". These are foods that are rich in fibre, such as wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread and crackers. Alternatively, you can choose foods that are calcium rich such as milk, cheese and yogurt as well as nuts and healthy oils.

Within free food selection it is possible to follow three eating plans: 'Extra Easy', 'Green Days' and 'Original Days'. These can be followed on different days, or dieters can stick to just one plan.

Extra Easy: Members can eat unlimited amounts of Free Foods at meal times and can fill a third of their plate with fruit and vegetables (known as 'Superfree foods')

Green Days: Eat unlimited amounts of Superfree foods as well as potatoes, pulses, starchy vegetables, rice, pasta and grains (plus measured amounts of all other foods, including lean protein foods and dairy

Original Days: Members can eat unlimited amounts of 'Superfree foods' as well as lean meat, poultry, fish and seafood( plus measured amounts of all other foods, including complex carbohydrates and dairy.

No foods are banned, but there is a controlled intake of more 'energy dense' foods, including chocolate and alcohol, which are called 'syns', which followers of other diets might recognise as treats. These are foods such as cakes, biscuits, sweets and also alcohol.

The company estimates that slimmers who have five to 15 syns a day can expect an average steady weight loss of 1-2lbs each week.

The Slimming World diet: How does it work?

The 'Food Optimising' eating plan aims to help people lose weight while still feeling their appetite has been satisfied.

Slimming World holds group sessions around the UK which are led by self-employed consultants. The company calls these meetings IMAGE Therapy, which stands for Individual Motivation and Group Experience.

During the sessions members are rewarded for weight loss and there is an opportunity to discuss strategies for losing weight. There is also encouragement to take light exercise - such as walking, gardening, washing the car - through the 'Body Magic' programme.

There is an option to follow the diet online for those who cannot find a group near them.

Slimming World encourages families to take part, and since 2006 children aged 11 to 15 have been able to attend group sessions free of charge if they have the support of their parent and a GP.

Slimming World NHS referrals

There is also the potential for people to be prescribed group session attendance funded by the NHS and subsidised by Slimming World. In some areas, the NHS may support a person's weight loss goals with a referral to a commercial programme such as Slimming World. Research published in the BMJ looked at 740 overweight adults. After 12 weeks, those on commercial plans did better than those looked after by an NHS nurse.

The percentage of participants losing at least 5% of their body weight was 46% for Weight Watchers, 42% for Rosemary Conley and 35% for Slimming World. The study was designed to compare each of the weight loss programmes with a comparison group, rather than with each other, so a larger study would be needed to assess more accurately which programmes are most effective.

The Slimming World diet: Expert views

In its assessment of the Slimming World programme, the British Dietetic Association's (BDA) Weight Wise says it provides: "A warm, empowering group environment which supports members and promotes behaviour change around eating and activity habits." It also says realistic weight loss targets are encouraged. The eating plan is described as "satisfying" and promotes " healthy eating patterns for life."

The Slimming World diet can help people lose weight, according to Emer Delaney, a dietitian from Chelsea, London. "It's been going for 40 odd years and people do lose weight on it," she tells us.

However, Emer Delaney says the strategy is not without its challenges. "It doesn't educate people on calories or portion sizes," she says. This could lead to problems later she says, and is concerned that people may come off the diet and: "go back into their old eating habits, putting themselves at increased risk of regaining the weight that they've lost."

Another drawback, as with some other diet plans and programmes, is that it is necessary to become a member to access the information and group support system. "You obviously have to pay for the service, which would suit some people, but others who are strapped for cash wouldn't have that option," says Emer Delaney.

However, Slimming World says slimmers who follow the plan and reach their personally chosen target weight are able to attend their group for free for ongoing support as long as they stay within 3lbs of that goal weight.

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