PEP Healthy Lifestyle Business Plan Based Upon Business Networking Model and Validity of Using the Business Model from a Business Networking Events Company to Provide a Weight Loss Solution

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Abstract

The UK has a growing obesity problem and it is becoming more and more important to find a solution to this as, not only is it affecting the health of those involved, but it is putting financial strain on the country by stretching health care resources to the limit. Dieting has a very bad name due to the negative coverage by the media of fad diets, as well as the difficulty many people have at sticking to them. PEP seeks to tackle this problem by creating a community of people who are not bound by strict diet rules, but rather are educated in how to make appropriate personal lifestyle changes that they can incorporate into their own lives, providing both themselves and their families with the opportunities to try new and interesting ways to become more active. This report goes into detail of the financial responsibilities and challenges of setting up this company and it uses a number of different tools such as Porters, PESTEL, Osterwalder and SWOT diagrams to outline as clearly as possible who the customer segment is, where the value lies for them, what opportunities and threats the company faces and what it hopes to achieve in the future.

Layman's Abstract

In 2008, almost a quarter of adults (24% of men and 25% of women aged 16 or over) in England were classified as obese (BMI 30kg/m2 or over). (Department of Public Health, 2009) Although obesity is known to be a disorder of energy balance, a true understanding of its causes and treatment remains elusive.It has been established in the interpretation of the literature, it is a consequence of environmental change, therefore the most logical solution to the problem would be aggressive environmental change, and however this would take serious action from the government which at present seems unlikely.Obesity is currently costing the NHS £1 billion. and a further predicted £3.6 billion a year to the UK economy In addition to these figures, the analysis of data the NHS for 2004 showed the direct cost of heart disease was £15.7 billion, therefore it is understandable that obesity is a hot topic in the UK at the moment; the potential financial risk involved in the treatment of the obesity epidemic.Current medical research is inconclusive as to the best way to reduce weight in the overweight customer at present, as the way in which the body processes both inputs and output of energy create a complex web of reactions which are not fully understood at present. It is understood that some reduction in calories needs to occur, without the body going into a state of starvation this can be achieved by changing the composition of the diet towards lower energy density while maintaining the food quantity, by increasing protein and fibre and limiting fat.Many of the long standing methods of weight-loss have shown to be successful over a limited period of time, however often these are not sustainable and therefore lose their validity. It has been identified that consumers need flexibility, education and support in order to combat their weight problem. At present the idea of adapting the model of a basic business networking company in order to tackle the problems of weight loss and the maintenance of weight loss for the overweight population does not seem to be a valid one, the need for consumers to have flexibility and tailored treatment. Weight loss customers are fiscal and the high dependence on fees as 95% of the revenue would be incredibly risky. However there are aspects of this model that may work if further investigations were made in to customer interests in the areas already identified, market research would also need to be done into the finer detail of possible products and customer spending and priorities to ensure that pricing and cost strategies are more flexible in this turbulent market

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Csahflow diagram for the first two years, as well as profit and loss for the first two years. these have been used to create graphs and figure used in the text

Keyword(s)

Nutrition; weight loss

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