10:30pm Tuesday 9th June 2009
By Claire Borley
WHEN Jayne Priest’s marriage broke down, she found food offered her a way of escaping from her emotions.
But her comfort eating led to her becoming a medical statistic – one of the many people who are clinically obese.
Jayne’s weight gain happened almost without her realising it as her thoughts were taken up with her new situation as a single mum of three-year-old Joe.
Her diet wasn’t based on junk food as she cooked, but she was eating too much.
Jayne says: “It wasn’t like I was eating rubbish, but my portion sizes were creeping up.
“I was eating things like lots of hummus and dips, and was mashing potato with cream and butter. Then Joe went through a stage of wanting to make cakes. There’s only me and him here, so I just ended up eating most of them.”
“When I saw the photo of Joe and I on holiday it was a turning point. I thought I looked so fat. My face looked really big and I couldn’t recognise myself,” the 39-year-old recalls.
Jayne, who lives in Little Thurrock, discovered an even bigger shock.
Her body mass index – calculated by her weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared – was more than 34.
With obesity classified as a BMI of over 30, this meant she was clinically obese and at risk of developing associated health problems, such as high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Jayne, a senior pensions officer, was already beginning to see the impact on her health.
“I had always taken Joe swimming and for walks, but I was finding I was getting out of breath a lot quicker and felt sluggish,” she says.
Then she discovered an NHS project that was a “brilliant kick-start to a life-changing decision”.
Jayne found out through her GP surgery, East Thurrock Medical Centre, she could have 12 weeks of free gym membership through an NHS South West Essex scheme.
Under the programme, GPs can refer patients with a BMI of more than 28 to commercial weight loss programmes and to local gyms once they have assessed their motivation.
Jayne went to Impulse Leisure at Blackshots for her gym sessions, where she was supported by personal trainer Wendy Grazier. Jayne says: “There is a misconception about gyms that everyone is going to look at you.
“But people going to the gyms – whether they are like me or like Madonna – are just concentrating on themselves. They might glance, but that’s it.
“I work, am a lone parent of a toddler and have to rely on people to look after Joe, so I can get to the gym. It’s been hard work. You really have to want to change.
“Those thinking of losing weight should grab the opportunity with NHS South West Essex as it’s a brilliant kick-start to a life-changing decision.”
From only being able to walk on the treadmill, Jayne can now run four kilometres in 30 minutes.
She has lost two-and-a-half stones, her BMI has dropped to less than 29 and she has gone from a size 20 to size 16.
The programme has sparked a wider lifestyle change. Jayne now walks wherever she can, keeps active by maintaining her allotment, has cut down on her portion sizes and eats more healthily. For the first time in a long while, she is looking forward to buying clothes for the summer.
She says: “My BMI is dropping and my confidence is growing. I love going to the gym and I’ve made great friends. My overall look is now toned and a lot slimmer. I have a lot more energy and sleep better.
“The weight loss programme is fantastic. I would not have achieved what I have on my own. ”
Dr Neel Bhaduri, public health commissioning manager at NHS South West Essex, says Jayne’s success shows how the NHS can support people to manage their weight.
“Offering free gym membership for 12 weeks is just one of the ways that NHS South West Essex is tackling obesity,” he says. “We have services that encourage healthy eating, offer ways of keeping active or help with psychological issues underlying a person’s weight gain.
“Obesity is one of the so-called lifestyle diseases but it is now one of the biggest threats to the nation’s health.”
For information on weight management schemes run by NHS South West Essex, call Margaret Rowley on 01268 705203.
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