Fitness focused footballers shed a quarter of a tonne of unhealthy weight in a year

MAN v FAT Football Northampton takes place every Tuesday evening from 7pm at Goals in Northampton. More information about the club and how to sign-up can be found here: www.manvfatfootball.org/northampton

The club is delivered in partnership with Northampton Town FC Community Trust, whose team lead the sessions.

Public Health England (PHE) data published in April 2023 suggests that around 68 per cent of adults in Northamptonshire are overweight or obese*.

Recent research from the National Food Strategy review estimates that every unit of body mass index put on by every individual raises the UK’s annual healthcare costs by £16**.

At the start of a MAN v FAT Football session, players are weighed to monitor their weight loss progress across a week. 30-minute games of six-a-side football then take place with extra goal bonuses awarded to teams based on their weight loss.

A team’s combined weight loss and match scores then contribute to its league position within a club.

Frank, a player at the Northampton club who has lost three and a half stone with the help of the programme explains: “Since joining MAN v FAT last May, I have really enjoyed playing football and being part of a team. My main drivers were my physical and mental health, but my biggest goal was to lose enough weight to be fit enough to ski with my family last Christmas.

“Losing weight was of course hard to start off with, but the feeling of pride and achievement when I started to lose consistently spurred me on to my own personal target of hitting a total weight loss of three and a half stone.

“Carefully controlling my calories, as well as dusting off my exercise bike and doing ten miles at least twice a week, as well as playing football with my friends, has helped no end. The team of lads I joined were fantastic, very encouraging and a pleasure to get to know.

“MAN v FAT has given me a new lease of life.”

Akshay Mistry, Health and Wellbeing Officer at Northampton Town FC Community Trust adds: “We’ve been working with MAN v FAT since August 2018, it’s been a fantastic partnership over years with plenty of support from Karl White and the rest of the MAN v FAT team.

“MAN v FAT was the first bespoke weight loss programme for men in Northamptonshire outside of the gym environment and it continues to provide an open and safe environment for men to lose weight and work towards a healthy and balance lifestyle. We’ve really enjoyed working with MAN v FAT and continue to do so in the coming years.”

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.

The total amount of weight lost by MAN v FAT players in the UK currently stands at over 605,000 pounds.

MAN v FAT Football Head of Football, Richard Crick explains: “The weight lost by the men at our Northampton club is testament to the sheer hard work and determination shown by the players taking part and our incredible coaching team, who lead the programme in the area.

“While the main aim of the programme is to help men lose weight, MAN v FAT is about so much more than that. Lifelong friendships are formed at our clubs and thousands of players across the UK have benefited from an improvement in their mental wellbeing, as well as their physical health.

“The programme is perfect for men who want to get back into playing football but might initially feel nervous about doing so due to their fitness levels. We encourage non-judgmental behaviour, body positivity and losing weight at a healthy, sustainable pace.”

In addition to football sessions, MAN v FAT players also receive off-the-pitch support including healthy meal recipe ideas and tips on general fitness. Players also get full access to MAN v FAT online gym, so they can train in their own time at home.

To find your closest MAN v FAT Football club, visit: https://www.manvfatfootball.org/Leagues/FindALeague

*https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/overweight#page/3/gid/1/ati/502/iid/93088/age/168/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/car-ao-1_car-do-0

** https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1025825/national-food-strategy-the-plan.pdf