The village being sponsored to lose weight
A secret millionaire has been giving locals free takeaways during lockdown. Now, he’s set them a challenge.
The onset of lockdown brought about an unexpected treat for the 170 or so residents of the Oxfordshire village of Denchworth. Two months ago, a mysterious wealthy benefactor with connections to the village announced that in order to keep spirits up, he would pay for a weekly fish and chip supper for every resident. It would be cooked by the landlord of the local 17th-century pub each Friday night, and left on doorsteps by volunteers.
Two months on and the fish and chips remain, unsurprisingly, popular. But now the anonymous “mystery man” (as he likes to be known) has returned with a new and somewhat contrary proposition: if any resident loses 10 per cent of their body weight in the next two months, he will pay them £100.
The weight-loss scheme is being driven, principally, by concern about the coronavirus. While Denchworth, a pretty village of thatched roof cottages nestled in the Vale of the White Horse, has so far been spared a single case of Covid-19, its inhabitants have watched with horror the events elsewhere.
And, in particular, the extent to which Britain’s obesity epidemic has hastened both the spread and severity of the virus. New NHS data, released yesterday, found that two-thirds of Britons have put on weight during lockdown, with a third having piled on half a stone or more in just eight weeks. And research conducted by NHS England with Imperial College London, published last week, found people with type 2 diabetes (driven by diet and lifestyle) are twice as likely to die from coronavirus as those without it.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who weighed more than 17 stone when he was admitted to intensive care, has emerged from his ordeal vowing to slim down and introduce more interventionist policies to bring the nation’s weight under control. Around 29 per cent of adults in England are classed as obese – among the highest rates in Europe
In Oxfordshire, things are worse still: research last year found that 56 per cent of adults there were overweight or obese. One in five children starts primary school overweight; by the time they leave, that figure has become one in three.
The mystery man’s plan for giving Denchworth’s residents a financial motivation came about after a bet he made with an overweight builder who worked on his home – and subsequently lost two stone.
“That gave me the idea that this needs to be copied,” he explains.
The benefactor has been described in the local press as a “very wealthy in-betweener” who spends his time between London and the village.
The Telegraph tracked him down this week, although agreed not to reveal his identity due to his insistence that he does not wish to take any credit should the challenge prove a success.
He added that his son has type 1 diabetes, which only accounts for one in 10 cases of the condition in the UK. Unlike type 2, it has nothing to do with obesity, but the experience has focused his mind. The Imperial study found that for people with type 1 who also happen to be severely obese, the coronavirus mortality rate is doubled. Obesity is also a risk factor for other underlying conditions – heart disease, dementia, kidney disease and asthma – that account for around three in four Covid deaths.
The donor said he hoped the nation would now follow Johnson – who is said to have warned “don’t be a fatty in your 50s” after his own scare – in taking their weight more seriously.
“The Prime Minister has taken on board it is right to be thinner in life,” he says. “If the country was to copy that we could see people reducing their weight and their health becoming less of an issue.”
Prior to his Damascene-conversion on the Covid wards, the PM was a vocal critic of interventionist health policies, particularly with regard to the war on sugar, which he declared the work of the “nanny state”. But the residents of Denchworth have proved surprisingly agreeable to the weight loss scheme, which begins on June 1.
At present, more than a dozen volunteers, ranging from teenagers agers to 70-year-olds, have agreed to take ke part.
They are asked to take a photograph of themselves standing on bathroom scales, which they will send to the landlord of the Fox Inn, Stephen Davidson, who is working with the mystery donor to administer the scheme. On August 1, participants will send him another photograph to share their progress (those involved have been assured these will remain confidential).
In between, there will be a support network established between participants, where they can share updates and advice. And while the free fish and chips will continue, there will be an addition to the Friday night deliveries: salad. When the mystery man first approached Davidson with the idea, he admits it raised an eyebrow. “I said: ‘You realise we’ve been giving everybody free fish and chips for eight weeks – and now you’re asking them to go on a diet.’”
Davidson, who has been the landlord of the pub, with his wife, Emma, for the past 20 years, has also decided to take part in the challenge. Currently, he estimates his weight to be around 19 stone, of which he hopes to lose about three.
“I’ve done diets before, but the weight always comes back again,” says the 47-year-old. “I hope doing this together as a village provides a real opportunity.”
One of the younger villagers taking part is 17-year-old Charlie Weeks, who is hoping to bring down his 17-stone weight. He will be joined by 70-year-old Christine Ashdown, who is also working on getting her diabetic husband involved. As well as ditching sugar, she is looking to increase the cycling and walking that she already does.
“I want to lose at least 10 per cent,” she says. “I like the incentive because it’s not fun losing weight by yourself. It’s a brilliant idea. The best thing for my husband would be losing weight. For me it’s mainly about the energy and enjoying a longer life.”
Ashdown and her husband have been self-isolating since March, relying on a puzzle and jigsaw swap arranged at the local pub before the lockdown began.
“We are lucky to live in such a fantastic community, where people can inspire each other,” she says.
Ben Heavers, who lives in the village with his girlfriend, weighs 15 stone and is 6ft 2in tall. He is joining in as he “really could benefit” from losing 10 per cent of his body weight. “I’ve got quite a belly on me,” says the 37-year-old, who has lost four stone over the past five years.
“I’ve been on a constant journ journey of weight loss,” he adds. “It’s been bee really hard and mostly I’ve been doing it alone but this is bringing bringin the community together.” As for the fish and chips, from now on he insis insists he will be choosing the salad.
The money will be paid i in two £50 instalments, one in August and another six months down the line t to ensure th the weight stays s off. Instead Inste of cash it will be in vouchers to spend at the local pub, which Davidson says will be adapting its menu to include healthier opt options.
As well as helping the village villag lose weight, he says, this is about ab allowing it to hold on to its last las public amenity – the pub. “The school and shop have closed. We W are the last resort really,” he says.
He insists that the weight loss will be encouraged responsibly, and if there are concerns about any participant, they will require their th doctor’s permission to get involved. invol
What he hopes above all is that, th over the next few months, the village v can reshape its relationship with what it eats – and inspire the res rest of us to follow suit.
‘The Prime Minister has taken on board that it’s right to be thinner in life’
‘We can inspire each other to shed the pounds’