Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council have partnered with Watford Football Club’s Community Sports and Education Trust to once again provide a weight management course –‘ShapeUp’– free of charge.The 12-week course will be available to 25 men aged 18-65 with a BMI of 28 or higher.Starting on Thursday 27 April, the sessions will be held weekly at Stanborough School, Welwyn Garden City, from 7.30- 9pm, running for a total of 12 weeks.Designed to educate attendees on exercise and nutrition, the sessions involve seminars on healthy lifestyles and group exercises.Councillor Fiona Thomson, Lead Member for Health, said: “With everyone living increasingly busy lives, it’s easy to eat convenience food and hard to make time for exercise.“Keeping fit and eating well are both important parts of living a long, healthy life. This course teaches the importance of food and exercise in a way that makes it fun and interesting, whilst helping to keep you motivated.“I would recommend it to anyone looking to lose weight or make positive changes to their lifestyle.”Hertfordshire County Council’s Director of Public Health, Jim McManus, said: “We want to help everyone have a healthy, happy life and are aware that men sometimes need a little extra encouragement. This is why we support programmes like Shape Up to encourage men to think about their lifestyle and achieve a healthy weight. It’s very successful and in the last two years nearly 500 participants have lost a collective 3,720 lbs!”Michael Marks, who previously attended the Shape Up course in Watford, said: “[Shape Up] genuinely changed my life! Especially with regards to the way I look at food. The best thing about the course is it gives you a great fitness session every week with knowledgeable personal trainers, but also really good education and resources about food, diet and fitness. I learned so many important lessons along the way.”
