Slimmers shed their clothes for Cancer Research
Slimming World members in West Preston are supporting a new charity campaign to raise awareness of the link between obesity and cancer.
The weight loss organisation aims to highlight the risk of developing obesity-related cancers together with its sponsored charity, Cancer Research UK.
According to a Cancer Research study, only 15% of people in the UK are aware of the link.
Donna Brookes, Slimming World consultant in Ingol, said: “It’s important to me because so many people still aren’t aware of this link between obesity and cancer, so we’re trying to get that message out there together with Cancer Research. We’re about changing people’s lifestyles so that they can lose weight and get more active.”
The national campaign highlights how being overweight or obese as an adult is proven to be linked to 13 different types of cancer, including breast, bowel and kidney cancer.
In June, Slimming World members across the UK will be fundraising for the charity as part of the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw, an event where slimmers donate clothes that no longer fit them.
Donna said: “We get lots of pink bin bags and fill them with the clothes we’ve slimmed out of and can’t wear anymore, then we donate them to local Cancer Research UK shops. We also do a sponsored walk where we pick a location and walk the distance. Last year the Ingols group ‘walked’ to Iceland and back again!”
The Walk All Over Cancer with Slimming World event will be coming up again in the summer. Donna said members are looking to improve even further on the £3.3m raised through their charity events last year.
The weight loss organisation has fundraised a total of more than £10m since becoming a partner of Cancer Research UK in 2013.
“There are a couple of members at our group who have gone through breast cancer treatment and have come out the other side. One of them had put on a lot of weight because of the treatment she underwent, but she managed to lose it again after the treatment finished,” said Donna.
Alongside the physical benefits, members experience incredible mental health and wellbeing improvements by reducing their weight and becoming active. For Donna, the Slimming World group meetings are as much about support as stepping on the scales.
“It’s almost like group therapy,” she said. “Everyone has the same plan of losing weight but there’s a lot of emotional stuff that goes hand in hand with eating as well.
“People find friends for life here. Members can share very intimate things that they may not even feel able to share with their partners. Hearing people’s stories, they’re so amazing they sometimes give you goosebumps.”
Slimming World uses a collaborative and compassionate approach to help people lose weight at their own pace, by letting slimmers set their own weight loss goals and providing local groups for support.
To find out more about Cancer Research UK’s obesity campaign visit www.cruk.org/obesityandcancer and for more information about Slimming World groups visit the website on www.slimmingworld.co.uk