Community support groups that encourage women to stay active in their ladies fitness clothing, eat well and follow a healthy lifestyle help them to avoid weight gain, a study has shown.

Researchers from the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women's Health split 250 women aged between 25 and 49 into two groups.

One group attended just one single 30-minute lecture about the benefits of following dietary and physical activity guidelines.

The other joined the HeLP-her Community Lifestyle Program, which saw them attend four interactive sessions where they discussed how to change their behaviour.

They also received monthly text messages encouraging them to stay healthy.

Women in the control group gained an average of 830 grams during the 12-month study and overall there was a 1kg difference between the groups.

"While not a huge amount of weight the key issue is that this simple programme stopped women putting on weight," said lead researcher Jean Hailes.

As well as preventing weight gain, regular exercise can also avert harm to brain function and memory, a study conducted by researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois revealed recently.

Posted by Tina Wilson ADNFCR-2569-ID-800003112-ADNFCR

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