Weight Management

Weight Management and Obesity

Definition and Prevalence

Obesity is the medical term for being very overweight. The World Health Organization's definition of obesity is a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30. (WHO (2021) Obesity and overweight https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight).

Obesity is a chronic disease and is a complex and often progressive chronic disease, characterised by excess body fat (adiposity) that impairs health (RCP)

Obesity is not a lifestyle choice caused by individual greed, but a disease caused by health inequalities, genetic influences, and social factors: Prof Andrew Goddard (RCP President)

Prevalence

Childhood obesity is a global epidemic because of its high prevalence and rapid spread in numerous different countries.
The prevalence of overweight and obesity globally amongst children and adolescents aged 5 – 19 has dramatically risen from 4% to 18% between 1975 to 2019 (World Health Organisation, 2020) which is an exponential increase.
In the UK, as of 2020, 9.9% of children under the age of 5 are obese and 21% of children aged 10-11 obese (House of Commons Library, 2021).
This report from the House of Commons states that a further 13.1% of children under the age of 5 are overweight and 14.1% of children aged 10-11.
It is estimated that at this rate, 25% of girls and boys under 20 in the UK will be obese by the year 2050 (Government Office for Science, 2007).
This is alarming as it means more children are at risk of breathing difficulties, increased risk of fractures, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, premature death and disability in adulthood, diabetes and cancer – predominantly breast and bowel cancer (World Health Organisation, 2020).
Also, obese children usually grow into obese adults (Birch & Davison, 2001) so these children will also carry these ailments into their adulthood which will lead to a lower quality of life.

Professional Resources

NICE

Obesity overview https://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/obesity

Obesity (guidance, pathways, quality standards) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/conditions-and-diseases/diabetes-and-other-endocrinal--nutritional-and-metabolic-conditions/obesity

Diet, nutrition and obesity ((guidance, pathways, quality standards) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/lifestyle-and-wellbeing/diet--nutrition-and-obesity

PH53 Weight management: lifestyle services for overweight or obese adults (2014) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph53

PH47 Weight management: lifestyle services for overweight or obese children and young people (2014) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph47

PH42 Obesity: working with local communities (2017) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph42

NG69 Eating disorders: recognition and treatment (2020) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng69

QS111 Obesity in adults: prevention and lifestyle weight management programmes (2016) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs111

CG189 Obesity: identification, assessment and management (2014) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg189
CG43 Obesity prevention (2006; 2015) https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg43

NG44 Community engagement: improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng44

Gov.Uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-obesity-government-strategy/tackling-obesity-empowering-adults-and-children-to-live-healthier-lives

Healthy Weight Coach e-learning programme: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/healthy-weight-coach/

Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS)

Obesity (2017) https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/obesity/

Royal College of Nursing Clinical Topics - Public Health: Obesity https://www.rcn.org.uk/clinical-topics/public-health/obesity

Royal College of Child Health and Paediatrics Key Topics - Nutrition and Obesity https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/key-topics/nutrition-obesity

Patient.info

Obesity in Children (2015) https://patient.info/doctor/obesity-in-children

Obesity in Adults (2021) https://patient.info/doctor/obesity-in-adults

Training and Education

RCGP Obesity Hub https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=6534

RCGP Physical Activity and Lifestyle Toolkit https://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/resources/toolkits/physical-activity-and-lifestyle.aspx

e-LfH Obesity programme https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/obesity/

Health Foundation Podcast - Episode 2: What should nanny do next? The government and obesity (Nov 2020) https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/podcast/episode-02-the-government-and-obesity

Health Education England ‘Making every contact count’ http://www.makingeverycontactcount.co.uk

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collection: Brief conversations in primary care: an opportunity to boost health (2021) https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/collection/primary-care-conversations-how-to-grasp-a-brief-opportunity-to-boost-health/

Public Health England’s Let’s Talk About Weight: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-weight-management-a-guide-to-brief-interventions

MECC: https://www.makingeverycontactcount.co.uk/training/

Moving Healthcare Professionals: https://www.sportengland.org/campaigns-and-our-work/moving-healthcare-professionals

Local Resources

Enhanced Service Spec - download

Weight Management Pathway - download

Outreach Library Service can identify, collate, and summarise evidence for you, to inform your clinical practice, patient pathways and professional development. https://future.nhs.uk/surreyheartlands/view?objectID=26431600)