Schoolboy loses four stone to scoop slimming award

A SCHOOLBOY spurred on by headlines about soaring childhood obesity to shed more than four stone was crowned Slimming World Young Male Slimmer of the Year yesterday.

Six months ago, Harry Moore, 16, from Sunderland weighed 17st 10.5lbs and had spent years being taunted by classmates who nicknamed him “Chubbs”.

But after reading a story in his local paper about the massive rise in childhood obesity, the 6ft 2in teenager managed to turn his life around, losing 4st 3lbs and going from a 42 inch waist to a trim 36 inches.

Harry scooped the slimming prize after telling judges he wanted to be a role model, not a statistic.

He said he had put on weight from the age of 11, eating several bowls of cereal in the morning, snacking constantly after school and easily putting away a 21 inch pizza on his own.

“I didn’t go out, I couldn’t — because I couldn’t keep up with my mates when they went paintballing or played football or basketball,” he said. “I had a very painful back because of the excess weight I carried.”

After losing a pound in the first week, he continued shedding weight steadily by swapping unhealthy foods for fruit, vegetables and his own home cooking.

He took up walking, and then basketball, football, and working out at the gym.

And today the newly-confident teenager, who hopes to study at Cambridge University, said the change in his life was more than physical.

“I used to be the quiet one in the corner and now I feel more self-confident and happy – I used to have terrible mood swings and that’s gone now.”