THE Waveney and Great Yarmouth area is now a healthier place to live after a local community slimming campaign led to people in this area losing an amazing 725st in just 12 weeks.

Members from the local Slimming World groups are looking forward to a much slimmer and healthier future after taking part in the club's Let's Beat It Together community weight loss challenge, which ran last year.

The average slimmer in this area lost 12lb over the 12 weeks and, as word of the campaign spread across the community, more and more people joined the challenge.

Nationwide, a quarter of a million people took part, losing a total of 193,386 stones during the 12 weeks.

'After smoking, obesity is the biggest issue threatening the health of our nation,' said Lowestoft-based Slimming World consultant Tracy Glover.

'While millions of pounds have been spent by the government to raise the awareness of the problems of being overweight and the lifestyle changes we need to make, the campaigns haven't been effective in bringing about these changes. So we decided to take action ourselves.

'Obesity is a problem that affects our whole community so our Let's Beat It Together campaign called all families and local communities to come together and support each other to improve their health, confidence and self esteem.

'Working together we put up posters and handed out leaflets, we wrote to our local GPs, hospitals, schools and employers and we spoke to everyone we knew about the importance of a healthy way of life. I'm so proud of the community spirit in our team and the slimmers in my group at Oulton Broad who rose to the challenge,' Mrs Glover added.

The campaign also raised awareness of the fact that even losing a small amount of weight, between 5pc and 10pc of your body weight, has shown to have significant health benefits, reducing the risks of obesity related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and even cancer.

Consultant Claire Bond, from the Carlton Colville group, said: 'Losing a collective 725st in just 12 weeks is incredible and shows what can be acheived when we work together as a community.'

To find out more visit www.slimmingworld.com or call Tracy on 01502 589888 or Claire on 01502 471839.