|
Weight management programme for 11-18 year olds in Exeter
SpecialEx is an exciting new (and free!) weight management programme developed specifically for children aged 11-18 years olds with a Body Mass Index on or above the 95th centile (Check this). The programme has been designed by SpecialEx director, Riyaz Jamal.
Since 2003, Riyaz has been the Exercise Specialist for The Care of Childhood Obesity (COCO) Clinic based at the Bristol Children’s Hospital. The COCO clinic is one of the country’s most successful weight management programmes and manages to help 75% of the children to significantly reduce their Body Mass Index. Due to this success, the clinic is a Department of Health Child Weight Management Training Provider and Riyaz is on the educational delivery team for the clinic.
A start-up grant from the BIG Lottery Fund made it possible to bring this expertise to Exeter from July 2010. Our full, 48 week programme, has been structured using 3 progressive phases and designed in accordance with the NICE guidelines 2006:
- Phase 1: 12 weeks Intensive
- Phase 2: 12 weeks Maintenance
- Phase 3: 24 weeks Support and Guidance
The lottery funding allowed us to run a trial of the 1st and 3rd phase of the programme for 10 boys and 10 girls who met the referral criteria. We had an extremely successful trial period, please see our results page for more detailed information. Although the trial has now finished, we are still running a scaled-down service which includes regular physical activity, healthy eating advice, regular motivation and support and opportunities to get involved in community and conservation work. If you are interested in joining us then please contact us or complete the referral form.
Everything we do is geared around making the children feel as comfortable as possible from the sensitive, caring and experienced staff to the quiet, private and safe location. The location is easily accessible, just 5 minutes from Pinhoe Sainsbury's.
 
| 
