OVERWEIGHT Wear Valley residents could be recruited for a groundbreaking study which is helping to cut the heart disease death rate.

Professor Massimo Massarini is proposing research in the district on the links between exercise and obesity, which is one of the major risk factors associated with cardiac diseases.

The Durham Dales Primary Care Trust and Wear Valley District Council would team up with gym equipment company Technogym for the study, which has already attracted interest from around the country and follows a similar project in Germany.

GPs who have been invited to a presentation at Auckland Castle tomorrow will be asked to refer up to 25 children and adults to follow an exercise programme at the council's leisure centres.

The study would complement existing health programmes, including exercise referral and cardiac rehabilitation.

The primary care trust and council are partners with The Northern Echo and Northumbrian Water in the A Chance to Live campaign, which aims to address disturbing heart disease statistics in the district by persuading people to eat well and exercise more.

Ken Ross, from the trust, said Prof Massarini's visit to Bishop Auckland was an important step forward in the district's fight to save lives.

He said: "He will be asking GPs to refer patients who are considered obese, based on the ratio of their height to weight.

"They will be looked at after three months and again after six months to check for improvements.

"Prof Massarini is an authority on physical activity and obesity and speaks on this subject internationally, so having him come to Bishop Auckland is a bit of a coup."

Kevin Archer, the council's community fitness manager, said: "We continue to be committed to innovative projects like this and see Wear Valley as an ideal place for the pilot.

"We hope the study will provide some answers to the problem of heart disease in Wear Valley as well as the national problem of a growing incidence of type two diabetes associated with obesity in children."

Senior NHS figures will be at the meeting along with representatives from Sport England, local authorities and Durham University.