Towards a healthy weight

Obesity is a chronic condition which requires multi-level action across all sectors, and part of this action should include local authorities and clinical commissioning groups cocommissioning weight management services across the obesity pathway.

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Up-and-down the country, councils are playing an important role in supporting people through commissioning what are known as tier two weight management services.

These are targeted programmes free-at-the-point-of-access for people who are overweight or obese. Coupled with the wider tier one population-level work, work in this area can make a huge difference. Although it is not a mandatory requirement.

Ambitious targets have been set for them with services expected to achieve 5 per cent weight loss in 30 per cent of cases. Research shows success on this scale can bring about significant benefits, reducing pressure on joints, lowering the risk of cancer, preventing type two diabetes, cutting cholesterol and easing high blood pressure.



Many council-commissioned services are achieving this and more. As the case studies in this report shows, local government is full of good practice with many programmes seeing really significant weight loss in excess of 3.4kg being recorded in the national NHS diabetes prevention programme.