13th DECEMBER 2024
AUTHORS
Paddy Griffith – Founder, SHED Nutrition
Mr John Butler – Consultant Oncology Surgeon MRCOG MBBS BSc, Royal Marsden Hospital
SUMMARY
Shed™ – the Meal Replacement Shake for male health and weight loss – has just completed a 6-week real-world study of 50 British men aged 35-65 (mean age 47) to ascertain effectiveness when it comes to weight loss and waist circumference reduction, and the levels of adherence as a reduced calorie diet.
The results are extremely promising:
- Average weight loss was 4.0 KGs – or 4.0% of bodyweight
- Reduction in Waist Circumference was 3.0cm – or 3.2%
- 95% of men who took the challenge lost weight
- 66 % of men who started the trial completed it
- 64 % of men rated the Shed regime easy or very easy to follow
- 82 % reported no side effects
- 91 % reported similar or increased energy levels despite the calorie-controlled diet
- 80 % said they would recommend SHED to other men
- 68 % would like to stay on the program
Off the back of these results Shed™ will launch to consumers, with a national media campaign, supported by partnerships with community organisations – aligned to a company mission of helping Britain’s forgotten men get healthy again.
In parallel, the Shed leadership team now seeks to turn this pilot study into a fully funded clinical trial, working with the NHS and other health providers, to establish how SHED can become a complementary solution in the fight for better health among the male population in the UK.
THE REPORT
TARGET AUDIENCE & METHODOLOGY
- Shed™ was designed for ‘regular middle-aged men’ who are significantly overweight (27+ BMI) but who feel excluded or let down by the available nutrition, fitness, or health solutions in the market.
- Often price is a factor, but just as much is a feeling of being unwelcoming or ‘not for them’ – that combined with social pressures – makes them unlikely to adopt.
- Shed™ is different: designed to be simple, welcoming, enjoyable – and most importantly, specifically for this target customer. Shed™ is where the excluded feel welcomed.
- With that in mind, we recruited our sample of 50 men from a working-class manufacturing company based in Leeds, Morley, and Darlington, but with some store-staff spread nationally. We told them what Shed™ was all about, gave them a six-week supply of the product, and tracked them weekly through the challenge.
- There were no other incentives, beyond a shared desire to feel healthier and lose some weight.
WHAT SHAPE WERE THEY IN WHEN WE FOUND THEM?
- The average weight of the “SHED 50” starting the trial was 15 stone, 9lbs (99.3KG) with an average waist size of 37 inches (93cm).
- On average they were 16 kgs (2.7 Stone) heavier than their lightest weight as an adult, and most were as heavy as they had ever been.
- The reasons they attributed to their weight were predictable:
- Poor Diet = 77 %, Lack of Exercise = 66 %, Stress = 39 %, Emotional Eating 30 %, and a Medical Condition = 16 %
- Beneath the surface were all the usual contributing factors you’d expect: lack of knowledge, lack of money, lack of time – but also a preference for, or the greater availability of, unhealthy options. 20 % cited family or social pressures as being the thing that drags them off course.
- But underneath it all, in the data and in the conversations we had along the way, we could see how COVID lockdowns, sports injuries/pain, loss of identity, and for many, depression is the root cause:
- 34 % reported feeling Stressed often or always, 19 % feeling Anxious often or always. 27 % of our 50 were on Anti-Depressants.
WHAT DID THE CHALLENGE ENTAIL?
- For 6 weeks we asked them to swap at least 1, or preferably 2, meals per day with a Shed™ shake. The shakes come in 3 flavours, Coffee, Chocolate, & Vanilla – a powder to be mixed with water or a combination of water and milk.
- Each shake has a balanced nutritional profile, including carbohydrates, 22g of protein, and fibre, with pro-biotics, vitamins, and minerals. The shakes are between 280 – 400 calories per serving (depending whether mixed with water or milk)
- Each triallist completed a detailed medical survey before and after the trial, and along the way we asked them to keep a record of what they ate and to keep track of side-effects or mood responses.
HOW DID OUR 50 MEN GET ON?
- 66% completed the trial (27% instead of breakfast, 34% instead of lunch, and 23% for two meals a day)
- 80% would recommend Shed™ to other men
- 82% said they experienced no side effects (4 flatulence, 1 constipation, 1 stomach upset)
- 64% said the program was easy or very easy to follow, with 93% saying the products were easy to prepare and consume in the course of their day
- 68% said they would like to stay on the program (vs. 14% saying they wouldn’t)
- 91% said they had no energy loss – with 49% saying they had greater energy levels than usual – despite the calorie-controlled diet. Only 9% said they felt less energetic.
CONCLUSIONS
Shed’s founding goal is to give men a return path back to normal weight – and with it, increased energy & restored confidence. So our focus is to help men lose the excess weight that holds them back.
A healthy weight for a 50-year-old man is 91kg vs average weight of our Shed™ participants was 99kg – Effectively 8kg overweight
- Over the 6-weeks they lost an average of 4.0 kg – or 50% of their excess weight
- Similarly, 50-year-old men should aim for a waist-to-height ratio of 0.5 and below. Before Shed our sample men had a waist-to-height ratio of 0.52. After the trial, after losing an average of 3cms, this ratio was reduced to 0.50 and back into the upper range of healthy.
- Over the 6-weeks waist-to-height ratio was reduced by 3.3% – bringing 33% of the triallists back into healthy range (Pre = 27 men +0.50 / Post = 18 men +0.50)