Football Fans in Training: a weight management and healthy living programme for men delivered via Scotland’s premier football clubs

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)