Learning new sustainable habits is the ‘key to weight loss’

People must make long-term changes to their habits if they are to lose weight and keep it off, an expert has claimed.

Melanie Stubbing, president of Weight Watchers International, suggested that if a person follows a specific but sensible programme that is tailored to them, then they can achieve a “safe, steady and healthy weight loss”.

Ms Stubbing emphasised that it is important for people to understand they can eat the foods that they like, but they must recognise what constitutes a “sensible” portion.

Her comments follow calls from the Medical Research Council (MRC) for Weight Watchers’ programmes to be made available on the NHS.

It claims that this will help to solve the obesity epidemic that is plaguing the UK.

The MRC’s head of nutrition and health research Dr Susan Jebb said that taking part in one of these slimming programmes can help people to achieve “medically-significant weight loss”.

Have you tried joining a slimming group?