You're Offline
The page will automatically refresh once you get online
For information about overweight in children see advice for parents of overweight children
You can find out if you are a healthy weight by working out your body mass index (BMI) using the BMI calculator.
For most adults:
If you are from a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African–Caribbean background you're at risk of health problems with a slightly lower BMI, so:
The BMI calculator cannot tell the difference between muscle and fat. For example, if you have a lot of muscle, it's possible the BMI calculator may put you in the overweight or obese category even if you do not have a lot of body fat.
If your BMI is under 35, you can use the waist to height ratio calculator to help you understand if you're carrying too much fat around your tummy.
You should try to keep your waist size to less than half your height.
Living with overweight and obesity increases your risk of developing many other serious health conditions, including:
Living with obesity is likely to lower your life expectancy by between 2 and 10 years.
It can also cause day-to-day problems such as:
You can reduce your risk of many serious health conditions by losing weight. Just losing a small amount of weight (5 to 10% of your body weight) can improve your health.
Your BMI is in the obese or overweight category and:
Making changes to your lifestyle can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
To lose weight try to:
On average, women use around 2,000 calories a day, and men use around 2,500 calories a day.
eat a healthy balanced diet – cut down on high fat or sugary foods and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
reduce the number of calories you eat
try to lose weight steadily – aim to lose 1 to 2lbs, or 0.5 to 1kg, a week
cut down on alcohol – alcohol is high in calories
get active for 45 to 60 minutes a day – you can break this up into shorter sessions
take part in a free fitness programme such as Couch to 5K
make a plan – set yourself realistic goals and check how you are getting on by weighing yourself regularly
be kind to yourself – changing habits and losing weight is not easy and takes time
It can be hard to lose weight and you may need extra support or treatment to lose weight and keep the weight off.
A GP can give you advice about losing weight safely and refer you for treatment, including:
A GP can also help you get support for any other conditions that might be affecting your weight, such as mental health conditions.
Weight management programmes can help support you to lose weight safely and keep the weight off.
They might include:
You can self-refer for some weight management programmes.
If you need a lot of extra support to lose weight, you may be referred to a specialist weight management service
You may also be able to get support from a dietician to follow a very low calorie diet (under 800 or 1200 calories).
Very low calorie diets are not suitable or safe for everyone. They are usually only recommended if your weight is affecting other health conditions and you need to lose weight quickly.
If you have other health conditions that are affected by your weight such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, you may be offered specialist support such as the NHS digital weight management programme.
You might be able to refer yourself to your local weight loss services, without seeing a GP.
To find out if there are any services in your area:
Depending on your BMI, and if you have any other health conditions affected by your weight, you may be able to have medicines to help you lose weight.
Medicines for weight loss work in different ways. They can:
Weight loss medicines are usually prescribed alongside diet and lifestyle advice.
You'll need to eat a balanced diet with fewer calories and do regular physical activity while taking them.
After you stop taking the medicines you should be offered support to help you stay a healthy weight.
Weight loss surgery, sometimes called bariatric surgery, is surgery that makes your stomach smaller so you do not eat as much food.
You may be offered surgery if:
If you are from a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African–Caribbean background, you may be offered surgery if:
You'll have the surgery in hospital and usually go home 1 to 2 days after. Recovery time is usually 3 to 4 weeks.
After surgery you'll have regular check-ups for 2 years to make sure you're eating healthily and doing regular physical activity.
You put on weight when you your body turns extra calories from food and drink into fat.
This is often caused by:
You may also find it harder to stay a healthy weight if you:
Speak to a GP for advice if you have a condition that makes it harder to stay a healthy weight.
Overweight and obesity can be a difficult to live with, both physically and emotionally.
You can find out if you can get any help with day-to-day living, such as help to move around, in the social care and support guide.
You can get support to make lifestyle changes in the NHS Better Health guide.
You may also find it helpful to join a local support group or find an online support group through a charity such as Obesity UK.
Information and support for anyone affected by overweight and obesity.
