'Love the New You' Target member booklet statement from Slimming World

We have been so saddened by comments on social media surrounding a statistic included in our 'Love the New You' booklet which is given to Slimming World's Target members when they reach their personal achievement target, and states that 4% of successful weight-loss maintainers spend less time with overweight friends.

This information is taken from the USA’s National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), which tracks the habits of 10,000 people who have successfully maintained their weight loss. The list starts with the finding that 90% of successful weight-loss maintainers continue to follow a low fat/low energy diet. At the very bottom of the list, at only 4%, is the finding that those who maintain their weight loss spend less time with overweight friends. The Slimming World booklet from which this information is taken goes on to promote and explore more deeply a number of different habits, including becoming more active, eating breakfast and keeping track of food and exercise. It explains that we don’t believe successful slimmers choose to lose old friends, rather that they gain new ones who share their new active habits and healthy lifestyle.

Slimming World welcomes and supports people at every stage of their weight-loss journey and we work hard to ensure all of our groups are free from judgement and humiliation. We believe developing a strong support network is important for success – indeed, we encourage our 140,000 members who have reached their personal achievement target to continue to attend their weekly group for free to support and share their experience with members who are still losing weight. And we work extremely hard to provide a positive and inclusive community for all.