An Interview for UK Health Radio with Sam Felton
In the U.K., 25% of adults are categorised as obese, the highest prevalence in Europe, type 2 diabetes has risen by 65% in the past 10 years with no sign of slowing down and both cost the NHS £16 billion a year. The Large amounts of conflicting, often sponsored, information available via the Internet and the mainstream media can make understanding what is right for us as individuals a real challenge.
Sam Feltham is director of The Public Health Collaboration a charity dedicated to informing and implementing healthy decisions for better public health. The charity helps to inform by publishing evidence-based reports on the most pressing public health issues alongside coordinated campaigns and implementing initiatives for improving public health. Sam Feltham shares his personal story and the development of the collaboration.
Sam has his own health story after developing Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when he was aged just 13. After a full recovery at 16 he then started working at his local sports centre, later went off to university and then worked as a snow boarding instructor for 4 years. After this he decided that he wanted to help as many people as possible so he trained to become a personal trainer where he delivered standard personal trainer advice. In 2010, Sam read ‘Why We Get Fat’ which initiated his interest in research and led him to start advising his clients to follow a low carb diet to lose weight. After so many success stories he planned to reach a bigger audience and decided to set up a boot camp called ‘Smash the Fat’. He soon realised his impact could be much greater if he collaborated with doctors, health care professionals, researchers and patients therefore in 2016 the Public Health Collaboration (PHC) was born.
To achieve their mission to inform and implement healthy decisions for better public health they produce reports and research, which informs and empowers patients and doctors. They review the NHS recommended Healthy Eating Guidelines and question what evidence is used and what the results are. As a nation we are are told that we are more or less, eating the right amounts of fat, carbohydrates, red meat, fruit and vegetables but obesity and diabetes has significantly increased in the last 20 years. The information that the Healthy Eating Guidelines gives us is clearly not working and many researchers question the conflict between the food companies and manufacturers that sit on the board for such guidance. An example of the work that can be accomplished by the PHC is supporting a GP/Nurse to advise patients with type 2 diabetes to follow a low carb, real food diet. They have seen that over time the surgery can spend £40,000 less on drugs for these patients. If all surgeries followed this example, the NHS could save £350m on diabetes drugs alone. The PHC has 12 scientific advisors on board which include GPs,
Cardiologists and diabetes educators who are all well connected to help make a difference. The PHC also wants to engage more nutritional therapists to work alongside GP’s to support patients to become more empowered about their health and receive a more personalised model of medicine. Take a look at the PHC website and also consider joining the PHC and downloading their material and advice.
To listen to this interview in full visit UK Health Radio
If you have an interest in a particular topic or comments about the show please email: info@thefoodteacher.co.uk
To find out more about Sam Feltham and The Public Health Collaboration visit:
Web address: https://phcuk.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sam.feltham
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamFeltham
Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slimology-Relatively-Simple-Science-Slimming/dp/1505629446/ref=la_B00RBOFN9Q_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1501066257&sr=1-1
