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. 

NHS 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. 

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: 

• NHS Weight Loss Plan app 

Get more active: 

• NHS Couch to 5K app 
• NHS Active 10 app 

Reduce alcohol intake: 

• NHS Drink Free Days app 

All the above apps are free and can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play.