Losing weight can be a challenge but there are many health benefits and there is lots of help and advice to help you maintain a healthy weight.
You can reduce the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Losing a few pounds will also lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, reduce stress on your joints, improve your breathing, reduce fatigue and help you sleep better.
Making small, simple and sustainable changes to your lifestyle, what you eat and drink, and doing some exercise can make a real difference.
There is no single rule that applies to everyone, but to lose weight at a safe and sustainable rate of 0.5 to 1kg a week, most people are advised to reduce their energy intake by 600 calories a day.
For most men, this will mean consuming no more than 1,900 calories a day, and for most women, no more than 1,400 calories a day.
The best way to achieve this is to swap unhealthy and high-energy food choices – such as fast food, processed food and sugary drinks (including alcohol) – for healthier choices.
Reducing the amount of calories in your diet will help you lose weight, but maintaining a healthy weight requires physical activity to burn energy.
As well as helping you maintain a healthy weight, physical activity also has wider health benefits. For example, it can help prevent and manage more than 20 conditions, such as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes by 40 per cent.
Try and get more active when you can a few times a week.
Medway Council provides advice for adult weight loss including free access to local people to weight management apps, classroom-based programmes and ‘Man v Fat’ football leagues.
Kent County Council runs One You Kent weight loss support. One You Kent offers professional and friendly support to help you achieve your weight loss goals with a free 12-week programme for people who live in Kent. You will be offered weekly support to learn how to manage your weight through healthy eating, physical activity and behaviour change.
You can also self-refer to the free One You lifestyle service. Confidential, one-to-one sessions can help you take the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle.
Active Kent and Medway has information on getting more active, making lifestyle changes that will benefit the whole family.
Find out more about support for families on the Kent Family website, including support for families to get active, eat well and how to talk to children and teens about weight.
If you are living with obesity, your GP can also offer you advice about improving your lifestyle and losing and managing your weight safely.
If you have tried a number of weight loss approaches and your weight is having a significant impact on your life, your GP practice can refer you to a hospital consultant who will give you advice if you have severe or complex weight issues.
The advice and support available depends on various factors, like your body mass index, other health conditions and age. Surgery and medication is sometimes available but under strict criteria. Such intervention is only considered when all other options to help you manage your weight have been considered.
GPs can also give you access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme.
The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme supports adults living with obesity who also have a diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension or both, to manage their weight and improve their health.
To start your journey to a healthier lifestyle, you need to speak to your GP or a local pharmacist who can refer you to the programme if appropriate.
The NHS Better Health Programme, which is open to everyone, provides tips, support and special offers, including access to the free NHS weight loss plan app.
Weight-loss medication (such as Wegovy or Mounjaro) can only be prescribed by a consultant-led service should it be appropriate and only if you meet the Kent and Medway criteria for these medicines.
Orlistat, which works by preventing fat being absorbed by your body, is available but is also only available to patients meeting certain criteria. Your healthcare professional will discuss the benefit and limitations of this medicine with you.
While some weight-loss drugs are now available in specific circumstances, medication should only be offered where appropriate. While these drugs are approved as safe, medication is not entirely free of risk.
Please do not contact your GP practice as they cannot prescribe this medication
Type 2 diabetes is a common condition where your body cannot make enough of a hormone called insulin, or the insulin it makes does not work properly (insulin resistance).
Insulin helps your body use glucose (sugar) for energy. Without enough insulin, the level of glucose in your blood becomes too high.
You can manage type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise, or medicines.
The NHS webpage on type 2 diabetes is a good place to find out more.
Diabetes UK, 0345 123 2399, can give you advice and support.
Here is local information about diabetes support in Kent and Medway
You can also sign up to Healthy Living, a free, online NHS programme that supports people to live well with type 2 diabetes: Healthy Living for people with type 2 diabetes.
The weight loss drug tirzepatide can be prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Your healthcare professional may make a shared decision with you that tirzepatide can be considered in line with existing NICE guideline recommendations.
Tirzepatide is usually considered an option for type 2 diabetes where other interventions (diet and lifestyle along with other medicines) have not controlled your diabetes.