One-in-three children will die young.

As startling as that fact may be, it is the devastating reality of childhood obesity – a cause Professor Paul Gately is passionately championing to promote healthy living among the young and prevent premature deaths.

Professor Gately’s recent appointment as chairman of the National Obesity Forum for Yorkshire and Humber has given him a greater platform to demonstrate the success of the weight-loss schemes he and his team at Carnegie Weight Management have been running in Bradford for a decade.

The camps at Woodhouse Grove School in Apperley Bridge encourage sustainable weight loss by combining physical exercise, social activity, healthy eating and improved lifestyles.

Professor Gately and his team are now starting to work more closely with young adults.

Last year they worked on a project with a group of 16 to 24-year-old Asian women at Bradford College. The programme was run in partnership with Bradford College and supported by the Primary Care Trust.

“We have a lot more adult work now. People are saying they’ve tried different things that haven’t worked, and they’ve looked at the results we’ve got and are saying that is impressive,” says Professor Gately.

He founded Carnegie Weight Management at Leeds Metropolitan University in 1999.

In that time, the programme has helped thousands of children lose weight. It is the longest-running children’s weight management programme in Europe and the country’s only academic (non-profit) institution providing childhood weight management services, training and research.

Professor Gately’s expertise comes from 20 years’ experience. He’s had an interest in childhood obesity since he was 18, when he worked with overweight children at a sports camp in America.

His fascination with the subject led him to undertake extensive research. He has a Sports Science degree, a Masters in Human Nutrition and a PhD, and his knowledge has led to him becoming a regular contributor on radio and TV programmes, and assisting government agencies, health organisations and corporations throughout the UK and internationally.

Professor Gately says his latest appointment is an extension of the work he is already doing. “The National Obesity Forum champions awareness around the issue of obesity. It champions good practice, and we know there is a lot of poor practice out there.”

The forum enables professionals to share their knowledge. “This is a fantastic opportunity to work with like-minded professionals to tackle obesity at a regional level. Yorkshire is already leading the way in tackling obesity through innovative partnerships and programmes.”

Professor Gately says while childhood obesity is slowing down, it is still a major problem. “It is not levelling off, but it is not increasing at the rate it was ten years ago.”

He calls for continued investment from healthcare organisations and authorities to enable them to carry on the fight against childhood obesity.

“There is some degree of investment, but not to the necessary scale.”

Bradford has been relatively well supported over the past two years, according to Professor Gately. “We have worked with Bradford and delivered some excellent programmes and had some great success. We have been oversubscribed, so we know there is demand for the programmes we are delivering in Bradford.”

Last year, 50 children attended the summer weight-loss camp at Woodhouse Grove. The scheme is expected to be repeated this year too. “Children lost weight and kept the weight off,” says Professor Gately.

“The camps allow us to work with children and their families to get an insight into what the issues are, and that’s why our results are so strong. We are fundamentally starting to help children and their families change for the future.”

Professor Gately is conscious of the statistics, which is why he and his team are working hard to tackle the issue. “One-in-three children will die young because of this problem – that is the reality,” he says.

“Bradford has invested in services and we are really keen to see them extend that because we know it has a major problem with obesity”

- For more information, visit carnegieweightmanagement.com or call 0113 8125233.