An Isle of Wight football club that encourages overweight and obese men to get fit has helped local men lose over a third of a tonne (300kg / 600 pounds) of excess weight in the last 12 months.
MAN v FAT Football Isle of Wight takes place every Tuesday evening at The Bay CE High School in Sandown. The programme’s organisers have extended an invitation to potential new players, who may wish to make a positive change to their lifestyle through the football-based programme.
In addition, new players from certain postcode areas on the Island may benefit from a free first 14-week season, funded by the Isle of Wight Council, which works in collaboration with MAN v FAT.
Mike Lazarus, a player at the club who has lost an impressive two and a half stone with the help of the programme explains:
“What I enjoy the most is the chance to get out, meet people and get more physically active, the club has a nice bunch of lads.
“My starting weight was 95kg (15 stone) and now I’m 81kg, so I’ve lost almost three stone. I was a 38 waist, now down to 34. Diabetes was the wake up call I needed to turn my life around.”
Aimed at men with a BMI of higher than 27.5, MAN v FAT Football has more than 8,000 players taking part in over 150 clubs across the UK. The programme was created by Andrew Shanahan, who, fed-up with traditional weight loss classes primarily aimed at women, decided to develop a programme that combines the beautiful game with achievable weight loss goals for men.
Before matches, players are weighed; this is followed by a 30-minute game of six-a-side football, with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on their weight loss. Weight loss and match scores then contribute to teams’ league positions within a club.
MAN v FAT Football Isle of Wight’s regional manager, Dan Church, explains:
“We’re so proud of the progress made by the players and the wider team at our Isle of Wight club. The men involved are genuinely changing their lives for the better by improving their physical and mental health, while making new friends and having fun in the process.
“We’re looking for new players to join our club, so if you think MAN v FAT might be for you, get in touch at – www.manvfatfootball.org/isleofwight
“helped local men lose over a third of a tonne (300kg / 600 pounds)”
In fact , they lost less than a third of a metric tonne (30%) and just over a quarter of an Imperial ton (26.7%).
Great come back to health for Lazarus!