Slimming World founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell dies aged 76

2 February 2025, 17:01

By Tom Hourigan

@tomhourigan

Margaret Miles-Bramwell - who founded the Slimming World weight loss organisation - has died aged 76.

The company announced her death "with deep sadness" on Sunday afternoon.

She set up the company, which provides tailored food plans and weekly group sessions for weight management, in Derbyshire in 1969 after several failed diets of her own.

The firm also provided the first NHS weight management referral scheme in 2000, meaning health professionals could refer overweight patients to Slimming World groups to manage their weight.

Ms Miles-Bramwell was made an OBE in 2009 for her services to the health of the British public.

Speaking after she collected the honour, she said: "In the early days there was some help around (for weight loss) but it was the sort that used humiliation tactics.

"I really felt that we needed to treat overweight people with respect and courtesy and as adults and not as children who needed a slap or something. That was really what inspired me."

In a statement, Slimming World said: "Margaret touched the hearts and changed the lives of millions of people, including all of Slimming World’s Consultants and staff who will feel her loss deeply. Right now, our thoughts are with Margaret’s family – her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

"We take comfort, as we’re sure they do, in the hope that Margaret is now reunited with her beloved husband Tony who passed away in 2021".

The company's managing director Lisa Salmon added: “Margaret steered her ship in the way she lived her life - with a generous spirit, passionate conviction, a wicked (and rebellious) sense of humour and a fierce belief in doing the right thing.

"Our job now is to continue to keep her legacy alive by doing the very same thing.”