In the UK it's estimated that around 1 in every 4 adults are living with obesity. To check if you’re a healthy weight you can use the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is classed as overweight, and a BMI of 30 or more is classed as obese.  

If you’re living with obesity you may choose to make some healthy changes to work towards a healthier weight, which could reduce your risk of some long-term conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. There are lots of things you can do to work towards becoming a healthier weight including making small changes to your diet and becoming more physically active.  

There is a lot of information online to support your weight loss journey; we recommend starting by taking a look at some of the advice provided by the NHS on weight loss, visiting NHS Better Health, or viewing our section on healthy eating and wellbeing, or at the end of this page you can see Other useful support and resources. There is also a local wellbeing for life service you can refer yourself into.  

If you are struggling to lose weight, the best thing to do in the first instance is to inform your GP. Your GP will be able to assess if weight loss is appropriate for you. They will assess if losing weight could be beneficial to your overall health. Your GP will use your weight, height and medical history to make this decision. If you meet the referral criteria, the GP may then signpost you to other services. They may refer you to our Weight and Wellbeing service, previously known as Tier 3.  

The benefits of losing weight

If you are obese, even small amounts of weight loss can be really beneficial for your health.

3% weight loss

  • Increase insulin sensitivity and decrease HbA1c, essentially this means improved diabetes control.
  • Lower cholesterol

5% weight loss

  • Decrease in blood pressure
  • Decrease in triglycerides
  • Improved liver function (for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease)

7% weight loss

  • Decrease in osteoarthritis symptoms
  • Improvement in obstructive sleep apnoea symptoms

10% weight loss

  • 57% patients see type 2 diabetes remission

15% weight loss

  • 86% patients see type 2 diabetes remission

Medications for obesity

There are medical treatments available for obesity which may help you to lose weight. You can discuss this with your GP. Injectable medications, such as, Saxenda, Wegovy (Ozempic), and Mounjaro are very effective. However, these are NOT currently available within our Trust. If you choose to take these privately, we strongly recommend you purchase them from a reputable source. We also encourage you to make the appropriate dietary changes to ensure any weight loss is healthy and lasts long term. Please use the resources on our website to help you with this.