Overview
Around two-thirds (63%) of adults are above a healthy weight, and of these, half are living with obesity. Obesity puts us at risk of a range of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, at least 12 kinds of cancer, liver and respiratory disease, COVID-19 and can impact mental health.
Obesity also puts pressure on our health service. It is estimated that overweight and obesity-related conditions across the UK cost the NHS £6.1 billion each year and there were nearly 900,000 obesity related hospital admissions from 2018 to 2019.
Better Health offers free evidence-based support and guidance to those working towards a healthier weight. There are a variety of free NHS endorsed apps which will help people introduce simple changes to help them eat better and get active, including the NHS Weight Loss Plan.
January is a key calendar moment for people looking to reset and reach their weight loss goals. For anyone wanting support, we have a range of support tools available. Better Health has also partnered with a number of weight management and physical activity providers who offer both free and special discounted offers on our website.
Better Health support tools and apps
The Better Health website (nhs.uk/BetterHealth) provides tools to help adults improve their health and lose weight including:
Weight Loss:
Get more active:
Reduce alcohol intake:
All the above apps are free and can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play.