Players from Bury FC are giving their support to men aiming to reach their weight loss goal.

And participants could “net” themselves a new smaller club shirt if they are successfully in shedding the pounds.

The Drop a Shirt Size initiative is specifically aimed at men, and weekly sessions are now taking place at the gym at Gigg Lane, which is used by the first team during the day.

Staff from the Bury FC Community Trust, public health trainers and nutritionists are on hand to offer advice.

Bury players helped to publicise the project when they wore the “drop a shirt size” T-shirts in the warm-up before their recent home game against Southend United.

Stefan Taylor, health improvement specialist, said: “Drop a Shirt has been developed in light of the increasing issues around men’s health and access to services.

“Traditionally football clubs provide an arena for (mainly) men to come and watch their favourite team play football, but now Bury FC Community Trust offers a weight manage-ment programme targ- eting men.”

Statistics show that 22.7 per cent of people in Bury aged 16 or over are classed as obese — which is defined as a body mass index (BMI) above 30, with BMI between 25 and 29 considered overweight, and a BMI of 40 or over defined as morbidly obese. BMI is calculated by weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared.

Health experts say obesity increases the risk of developing serious and life-threatening diseases, such as type two diabetes, heart disease, some types of cancer such as breast and colon cancer, as well as increasing the likeli-hood of strokes.

Mr Taylor added: “The programme offers a structured programme around healthy eating and physical activity which encourages beh-aviour change, with the benefits being weight loss and a feeling of increased wellbeing and a sense of achievement.

“We support this programme, as Drop a Shirt Size offers something new to those males who are looking to lose weight in an environment which suits their needs, located in the community for the community.”

The sessions run every Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm, costing £5 per session or £40 for 10 weeks.

Places are limited and can be booked in advance by calling the trust’s health team on 08444 875 333.