On Tuesday 23 September, Huddersfield Town Foundation launched their Heart of the Town programme, which aims to help men in Kirklees aged 18 and over improve their mental and physical health.

15 men from Kirklees and the wider area have signed up to the programme, with 13 of the participants attending the first session of the 12-week programme at Accu Stadium’s Community Hub.

Heart of the Town aims to educate participants on the importance of diet and nutrition; safe alcohol use; diabetes; weight management and mental health, all risk factor associated with cardiovascular disease.

Throughout the next 11 weeks, participants will experience a blend of physical activity and classroom-based learning led by guest health and wellbeing experts and Huddersfield Town Foundation staff.

The initiative, funded by the Sky Bet EFL Building Foundations Project Fund, aims to tackle the issues relating to physical and mental health in men.

The programme is delivered by the Foundation’s health and wellbeing experts: Senior Health and Wellbeing Manager Beth Cook, Physical Health Manager Matthew Crookes, and Community Health Coach Faye Allen.

The first session included a presentation from Matthew about the Foundation, their positive health impact in the community and the reasons behind the launch of the programme.

After the presentation, the team took participants’ measurements, including BMI, blood pressure and cholesterol to calculate each participants’ heart age and cardiovascular disease risk scores, and to monitor the start of their journeys on the programme.

Participants also completed questionnaires so that the team could better understand their emotional wellbeing, and current physical activity levels.

Huddersfield Town Foundation Senior Health and Wellbeing Manager, Beth Cook, believes the programme can help improve heart health, cholesterol and BMI readings in participants.

Reflecting on the success of the opening evening, Senior Health and Wellbeing Manager Beth Cook said:

“As we know that there are inequalities in cardiovascular health and high rates of overweight and obesity across Kirklees, we felt an obligation to try and tackle these issues, and the associated risk factors.

“As the official charity of Huddersfield Town Football Club, and with our local network across the third sector, we feel we are well placed to reach men in the local area to help them with their health and wellbeing.

“We hope to build a community of men who can not only benefit from Heart of the Town but can also support each other on their health journey.”

Huddersfield Town Foundation has limited places still available to sign up to the programme, but please be aware you will need to email help@htafcfoundation.com before the next Heart of the Town session on Tuesday 30 September.

Did you know? Monday 29 September marks World Heart Day, an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease and the importance of taking care of your heart.