CHANCES are you will have heard a fair bit about the scandal of Britain’s 63-stone teenager recently.

Georgia Davis, aged 19, of Aberdare, South Wales, was unable to stand because of her weight and had to have part of her house demolished so the emergency services could get her out. She has attracted a lot of interest nationally and it’s no surprise really – she is a symbol of the growing obesity epidemic which seems to be engulfing the western world.

One of the most shocking things about obesity is how young some of the affected people are, youngsters who are really too young to understand about healthy eating or exercise any choice over what is put on their plate.

We already reported in December last year how one in 10 four and five-year-olds and close to one in every five 10 and 11-year-olds in Worcestershire are obese, according to figures supplied by the NHS Information Centre.

Obesity tends to be higher in more deprived areas, which is why cash has recently been directed into health initiatives in Dines Green, Tolladine and Warndon in Worcester, where people can die on average up to 12 years before people in more affluent areas.

There is a nine-year gap in life expectancy between affluent Warndon Villages and neighbouring Warndon, the kind of gap which bosses in the NHS have been battling for years to close.

Lack of exercise and poor living costs the NHS in Worcestershire more than £5 million each year.

But now a new health club in Worcester has been set up with the specific purpose of answering this challenge and helping the nation win the fight against the flab – and all its associated complications.

Positive People in Shrub Hill Road, Worcester, is a community interest company and the pair who set it up, Pam Ojalae and Indy Singh, want doctors to refer NHS patients to the service, which is specifically for overweight people.

Pam, aged 45, said overweight people suffered or ran the risk of developing a series of ailments, including knee problems, heart disease and diabetes.

She said: “If you are overweight you are really intimidated about going into a gym. They may not feel comfortable training with really fit people. I want to help them. Sometimes one technique alone doesn’t work. I really want to take NHS referrals and we are requesting them. Obesity is a problem and – absolutely – it is growing and it’s not going to stop unless we do something about it.

People grow up and just don’t know what to eat. We need to change their mindset – to reprogramme their minds. The more feedback they get, the harder they work. Some people feel down and have no confidence because of this issue.”

Pam, who is originally from the Punjab in India, also says she can offer emotional and practical support to people who have been binge or comfort eating, including dietary advice – what to eat, how much to eat and how often to eat, and breathing techniques.

Pam, whose family served in the Indian army, said she wanted to bring army routine to people’s lives to help them achieve results at the health centre, which opened last month.

Her business partner, Indy Singh, said the club had been designed with blacked out windows to give people more confidence when completing their routine, helping people with a negative body image or who are self-conscious to enjoy the experience more.

He said as well as their usual routines people would be set challenges to help them achieve better results, lose more weight and keep them motivated.

Performance including weight loss, body mass index and other measurements are monitored so staff can see if people are making progress or if their routine needs to be adjusted.

People will have the opportunity to take part in circuit training, aerobics, boxercise and yoga as well as the chance to use the typical equipment you can see in other gyms such as cross trainers, rowing machines, running machines and free weights.

The gym also has a room of hydraulic resilience machines imported from the US which are specifically designed to help people who are paraplegic or who have lost limbs, which can happen when people have diabetes, which can be linked to obesity. They are also easier to use for people who are overweight and can be adjusted more easily.

Mr Singh said: “The idea is to make it fun so we can keep them motivated, setting them little challenges. People say it’s their own fault, that they have got themselves into this predicament but it’s the way the world is set up with advertising, television, everywhere you look it’s food, food, food.”

For more information visit positivepeopleplus.com or call 01905 22016.