Slimming World members in Galway are celebrating their fabulous weight losses by donating the clothes they have successfully slimmed out of to the Irish Cancer Society. The members, who have lost over 1,200 stone between them since January, have so far donated nearly 500 bags to raise vitally needed funds for the cancer charity.
Overweight and obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK and Ireland – more than one in 20 cancer cases are caused by excess weight. A 2017 study in the Irish Medical Journal showed that 4.5 per cent of newly diagnosed invasive cancers are attributed to being overweight or obese, a yearly average of 784 new cases and 310 deaths. Losing just 10 per cent of body weight can start to significantly reduce the risk of 13 types of cancer including cancers of the breast, uterus, cervix, ovaries, and gall bladder.
Slimming World’s powerful combination of group support, a generous, flexible, eating plan, a diet high in fibre, fruit, and vegetables, and an incremental physical activity programme, is an evidence-based, effective way to lose weight and stay slim for life, helping members reduce their risk of developing cancer by losing weight and getting support to maintain a healthy weight.
In 2019, the latest data from the national longitudinal study Growing Up in Ireland showed that 15 per cent of five-year olds were overweight and five per cent were obese. This suggests that overweight and obesity may remain a health challenge in Ireland in the future.
Slimming World is a family-friendly approach – helping mums, dads, and guardians take home healthy habits around food and activity – that the whole family benefits from (Slimming World’s Health & Wellbeing study ). Three months after joining Slimming World 82 per cent of members surveyed said that their partner was eating healthier meals, and 77 per cent said their children were too.
Since 2013, Slimming World members have donated more than €17.5m worth of pre-loved items to the Irish Cancer Society and Cancer Research UK. When the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw was last held before the pandemic in 2019, it raised €320,000 for the Irish Cancer Society. This year’s event gives members a chance to celebrate the difference that they have made to their health and the reduced risk of a range of health conditions, including cancer, while also raising desperately needed post-pandemic funds for the Irish Cancer Society.
As well as raising vital funds, the partnership between Slimming World and the Irish Cancer Society also supports their shared goal to raise awareness of the links between obesity and cancer.
Anyone wishing to take part in the Big Golden Slimming World Clothes Throw, or find out more about Slimming World, can visit www.slimmingworld.ie
