Football Fans in Training: A Weight Management and Healthy Living Programme for Men Delivered via Scotland’s Premier Football Clubs

  • Kate Hunt
  • Sally Wyke
  • Cindy Gray
  • Christopher Bunn
  • Billy Singh
Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

The Football Fans in Training (FFIT) programme was designed as a weight management and healthy living programme for men aged 35–65 years with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 28 kg/m2. The programme was gender-sensitised in context, content and style of delivery, and hence was intended to provide men with support in adopting healthy behaviours in ways which were consistent with, rather than counter to, prevailing cultures of masculinity.

FFIT exploited the traditionally male environment of football clubs, existing loyalty to football teams and the opportunity to participate in men-only groups to maximise men’s engagement. It was delivered by the football clubs’ own community coaches, trained to a standard protocol, and comprised an evidence-based, 12-session, weight management and physical activity group programme, with subsequent minimal-contact weight loss maintenance support via occasional emails from club coaches, and a 9-month reunion session.

FFIT was evaluated by means of a full-scale randomised controlled trial (believed to be the first occasion on which a project of this type was so evaluated). Men wishing to participate were allocated at random to intervention and control groups (the latter being offered the opportunity to join a later intervention programme). Results showed that men who had completed the FFIT programme weighed, on average, 5.6 kg less 12 months after baseline, compared with 0.6 kg in the control group. There were also significant differences between intervention and control groups in secondary outcomes post-programme (including improvements in blood pressure, physical activity, diet, alcohol consumption and mental well-being).

Health economic assessment showed that FFIT was relatively inexpensive to deliver, and was judged to be cost-effective (for a cost-effectiveness threshold of £20,000 per quality-adjusted life year gained [QALY], the probability that FFIT was cost-effective compared to no intervention was 0.72, and this probability rose to 0.89 for a cost-effectiveness threshold of £30,000).

Keywords

Obesity Weight management Men Football Fans Scotland Clubs Randomised controlled trial (RCT) Public health Health promotion 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to: the FFIT participants who took part in the research; the club coaches in the SPL (now SPFL) clubs; colleagues on the Gender and Health survey and fieldwork teams at MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow University, in particular Catherine Ferrell, Elaine Hindle, David Walker, Karen Wood, Alice Maclean, Susie Smillie, Mark Robinson and Alan Pollock. Many people contributed to the development of FFIT. We would particularly like to acknowledge current and former colleagues at the SPL (now SPFL) Trust (Euan Miller, Mark Dunlop, Stuart MacPhee), Jim Leishman and colleagues at the Camelon Men’s Health Clinic, Professor Nanette Mutrie and Professor Annie Anderson. The pilot feasibility trial of FFIT was funded by Chief Scientist Office (CZG/2/504) and the full-scale evaluation was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research (NIHR PHR) Programme (project number 09/3010/06). The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the NIHR PHR Programme or the Department of Health. KH is funded by the Medical Research Council (MC_U130059811, MC_UU_12017/3).

References

  1. 1.
    Public Health England. International comparisons of obesity prevalence. http://www.nepho.org.uk/pages.php5?pg=299. Accessed 24 April 2014.
  2. 2.
    Wang YC, McPherson K, Marsh T, Gortmaker S, Brown M. Health and economic burden of the projected obesity trends in the USA and the UK. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):815–25.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Gray L, Leyland A. Obesity. In: Rutherford L, Sharp C, Bromley C, editors. The Scottish health survey 2011 volume 1: adults. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government Health Directorate; 2012. p. 185–205.Google Scholar
  4. 4.
    Counterweight Project Team. Influence of body mass index on prescribing costs and potential cost savings of a weight management programme in primary care. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2008;13(3):158–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. 5.
    Gortmaker S, Swinburn BA, Levy D, Carter R, Mabry PL, Finegood DT, et al. Changing the future of obesity: science, policy, and action. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):838–47.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    King D. The future challenge of obesity. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):743–4.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Greener J, Douglas F, van Teijlingen E. More of the same? Conflicting perspectives of obesity causation and intervention amongst overweight people, health professionals and policy makers. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70(7):1042–9.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. 8.
    Gough B. ‘Real men don’t diet’: an analysis of contemporary newspaper representations of men, food and health. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64(2):326–37.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Mallyon A, Holmes M, Coveney J, Zadoroznyj M. ‘I’m not dieting, I’m doing it for science’: masculinities and the experience of dieting. Health Sociol Rev. 2010;20(1):330–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. 10.
    Wolfe B, Smith J. Different strokes for different folks: why overweight men do not seek weight loss treatment. Eat Disord. 2002;10(2):115–24.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. 11.
    Wilkins D. The research base for male obesity: what do we know? In: White A, Pettifer M, editors. Hazardous waist: tackling male weight problems. Abingdon: Radcliffe; 2007. p. 3–11.Google Scholar
  12. 12.
    Counterweight Project Team. Evaluation of the counterweight programme for obesity management in primary care: a starting point for continuous improvement. Br J Gen Pract. 2008;58(553):548–54.CrossRefPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  13. 13.
    Bye C, Avery A, Lavin J. Tackling obesity in men; preliminary evaluation of men-only groups within a commercial slimming organization. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2005;18(5):391–4.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    Robertson C, Archibald D, Avenell A, Douglas F, Hoddinott P, van Teijlingen E, Boyers D, Stewart F, Boachie C, Fioratou E, Wilkins D, Street T, Carroll P, Fowler C. Systematic reviews of and integrated report on the quantitative, qualitative and economic evidence base for the management of obesity in men. Health Technol Assess. 2014;18(35):v–vi.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  15. 15.
    Morgan PJ, Lubans D, Collins CE, Warren J, Callister R. 12-Month outcomes and process evaluation of the SHED-IT RCT: an internet-based weight loss program targeting men. Obesity. 2011;19(1):142–51.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. 16.
    Hunt K, McCann C, Gray C, Mutrie N, Wyke S. ‘You’ve got to walk before you run’. Positive evaluations of a walking programme as part of a gender sensitised weight management programme delivered to men through professional football clubs. Health Psychol. 2013;32(1):57–65.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. 17.
    Gray C, Anderson A, Clarke A, Dalziel A, Hunt K, Leishman J, et al. Addressing male obesity: an evaluation of a group-based weight management intervention for Scottish men. J Mens Health. 2009;6(1):70–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. 18.
    Morgan PJ, Collins CE, Plotnikoff RC, Cook AT, Berthon B, Mitchell S, et al. Efficacy of a workplace-based weight loss program for overweight male shift workers: the workplace POWER (Preventing Obesity Without Eating like a Rabbit) randomized controlled trial. Prev Med. 2011;52(5):317–25.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. 19.
    Pagoto SL, Schneider KL, Oleski JL, Luciani JM, Bodenlos JS, Whited MC. Male inclusion in randomised controlled trials of lifestyle weight loss interventions. Obesity. 2012;20(6):1234–9.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. 20.
    Gray C, Hunt K, Mutrie N, Anderson A, Leishman J, Delgarno L, et al. Football fans in training: the development and optimization of an intervention delivered through professional sports clubs to help men lose weight, become more active and adopt healthier eating habits. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:232. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-232.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  21. 21.
    Hunt K, Wyke S, Gray CM, Anderson AS, Brady A, Bunn C, et al. A gender-sensitised weight loss and healthy living programme for overweight and obese men delivered by Scottish Premier League football clubs (FFIT): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2014;383(9924):1211–21.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  22. 22.
    Ireland R, Watkins F. Football fans and food: a case study of a football club in the English Premier League. Public Health Nutr. 2010;13(5):682–7.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. 23.
    Gray CM, Hunt K, Mutrie N, Anderson AS, Treweek S, Wyke S. Can the draw of professional football clubs help promote weight loss in overweight and obese men? A feasibility study of the Football Fans in Training programme delivered through the Scottish Premier League. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2011;65:A37–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. 24.
    National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Obesity: the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children. London: NICE; 2006.Google Scholar
  25. 25.
    Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Management of obesity: a national clinical guideline. Edinburgh: Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network; 2010.Google Scholar
  26. 26.
    Michie S, Abraham C, Whittington C, McAteer J, Gupta S. Effective techniques in healthy eating and physical activity interventions: a meta-regression. Health Psychol. 2009;28(6):690–701.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. 27.
    Hunt K, Gray C, MacLean A, Smillie S, Bunn C, Wyke S. Do weight management programmes delivered at professional football clubs attract and engage high risk men? BMC Public Health. 2014;14:50. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-50.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  28. 28.
    Brady A, Perry C, Murdoch D, McKay G. Sustained benefits of a health project for middle-aged football supporters at Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers Football Clubs. Eur Heart J. 2010;31(24):2966–8.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. 29.
    Pringle A, Zwolinsky S, Smith A, Robertson S, McKenna J, White A. The pre-adoption demographic and health profiles of men participating in a programme of men’s health delivered in English Premier League football clubs. Public Health. 2011;125(7):411–6.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  30. 30.
    Pringle A, Zwolinsky S, McKenna J, Daly-Smith A, Robertson S, White A. Effect of a national programme of men’s health delivered in English Premier League football clubs. Public Health. 2013;127(1):18–26.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  31. 31.
    Courtenay W. Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: a theory of gender and health. Soc Sci Med. 2000;50(10):1385–401.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  32. 32.
    Vandello JA, Bosson JK. Hard won and easily lost: a review and synthesis of theory and research on precarious manhood. Psychol Men Masculinity. 2013;14(2):101–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Kate Hunt
    • 1
    • 2
  • Sally Wyke
    • 2
  • Cindy Gray
    • 2
  • Christopher Bunn
    • 2
  • Billy Singh
    • 3
  1. 1.MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, Glasgow UniversityGlasgowUK
  2. 2.Institute for Health and WellbeingUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
  3. 3.Scottish Professional Football League TrustGlasgowUK

Personalised recommendations