A Telford man with learning disabilities has tipped the scales in his favour after shedding nearly half of his body weight with the help of local weight management services.
Before embarking on his weight loss challenge, Andrew Neary, 24, happily munched his way through a daily diet of processed food, biscuits and cakes which pushed his weight up to a dangerous 29 and a half stone.
But things began to change for the better when 18 months ago he moved into Downing House in Dothill, Wellington, a residential home for adults with learning disabilities.
With the support of staff from Downing House and the Adult Learning Disability team, based at Tan Bank in Wellington, Andrew started attending Why Weight Plus sessions just over 12 months ago.
Why Weight and Why Weight Plus are weight management support services for the borough of Telford and Wrekin. Why Weight Plus is a free service, for GP referrals only, whereas Why Weight sessions are open to anyone wanting to lose weight and improve their general health and fitness levels.
The NHS services, launched in Telford four years ago, taught him about nutrition, exercise and offered support and advice to help him achieve his goals.
He now weighs a much healthier 18 and a half stone.
Andrew said: “When you’re overweight you can’t walk properly. Losing weight has made me feel proud, happy and I feel good about myself.”
Jenny Gater, health facilitation assistant, said: “In the last 12 months, he has learnt to swim which he really enjoys and he attends the gym regularly.
“Weight loss has made a huge difference to his life and his confidence. We are all really proud of Andrew’s achievement so far.”
