Ixelles (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Starting mid-September 2025, the Ixelles pool in Brussels offers a weekly Sunday swim hour for overweight people. Organised with Fat Friendly, 12 join the aqua gym, 18 swim freely. Supported by Alderman Nabit Messaoudi.
As VRT News reported, starting in mid-September 2025, the Ixelles swimming pool in Brussels will offer a weekly swimming hour for overweight people. The program is coordinated with Fat Friendly, an organisation that enables obese individuals to enjoy public places and locate appropriate areas to undertake activities.
Fat Friendly members have repeatedly expressed that they wish to participate in group activities in which they can feel relaxed. After negotiations with the Ixelles town council, a special time slot was organised each Sunday afternoon from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. For one hour, 12 people are able to attend an aqua gym lesson under the instruction of a physiotherapist, and 18 others are free to swim independently in another pool area.
“This way, overweight people, who are often bothered by the looks of others, can also exercise, move, and have fun, making it much easier,”
says Marie-Amah Kouadio.
What makes Brussels’ Ixelles pool weekly swim special for overweight people?
According to Pelphine, the founder of Fat Friendly, this new swimming hour is a unique initiative. She preferred not to give her last name. Pelphine said that classes for overweight people usually exist in medical settings, such as obesity centres or physical therapy offices, but those programs mainly focus on medical care or weight loss. She explained that the swim hour in Ixelles is different because it is focused on having fun. Participants can exercise in a safe and welcoming environment without pressure to lose weight.
“This way, overweight people, who are often bothered by the looks of others, can also exercise and have fun, and the threshold is much lower,”
Pelphine said.
The initiative has received support from local authorities. Nabit Messaoudi (PS – Vooruit), Alderman for Sports in Ixelles, said he felt happy and proud about the project. He noted that the city already offers many sports programs for residents, but until now, there were no specific initiatives for overweight people.
“We are indeed an inclusive municipality,”
says Chantal Collet, director of the Department of Education, Culture and Sport in Ixelles.
“We focus on this in various areas: in our schools, in cultural activities, and therefore also in sports.”
Another initiative was started in Ghent in 2022, where a local sports centre hosted weekly swimming sessions for people with overweight and obese. The Ghent programme, like the project in Ixelles, aimed to facilitate social participation and enjoyment rather than weight loss. The sessions provided guided water-based exercises, as well as opportunities for participants to freely swim. Organisers noted overall positive feedback.
