Your route to a healthier weight

Healthy Weight in Southwark

How can being an unhealthy weight affect your health?

Being overweight or obese has effects on health and wellbeing. These can be obvious physical changes caused by excess fat such as musculoskeletal problems such as increased wear and tear on joints, sleep apnoea because of fatty deposits around the airway and psychological and social difficulties caused by altered body image and stigma. Being overweight or obese can also cause ‘invisible’ changes such as an increase of fat in blood and an altered response to insulin. Being overweight or obese can cause many conditions including coronary heart disease, type II diabetes and cancer and is associated with complications in pregnancy and childbirth. It can also make many conditions worse. Obesity reduces life expectancy by an average of three years, or eight to ten years in the case of severe obesity (BMI over 40). Around 8% of annual deaths in Europe (at least one in 13) have been attributed to overweight and obesity. The cost to the UK economy of overweight and obesity was estimated at £15.8 billion per year in 2007, including £4.2 billion in costs to the NHS.

Being underweight can be as bad for your health as being overweight or obese. Weighing too little can contribute to a weakened immune system, fragile bones and a lack of energy. If you are worried that you or someone you care for are underweight, the best thing to do is to speak to your GP or school nurse/health advisor as there may be an underlying condition which is causing this.

It is also important to eat a healthy balanced diet and try to be active.

What is an unhealthy weight?

Body mass index or BMI is a method to define if someone is overweight or obese. It is defined as weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres (kg/m2).

Table 1: World Health Organisation BMI classification system for adults BMI range (kg/m2) Classification:

< 18.5           Underweight

18.5 - 24.9     Healthy weight

25 -29.9         Overweight

30 - 39.9        Obese

> 40              Morbidly obese

Check your BMI >> here 

Although BMI allows for differences in height, it does not distinguish between mass due to body fat and mass due to muscular physique, or for the distribution of fat on the body.

Therefore, waist circumference is also a recognised measure to identify people at health risk from being overweight.

• Increased risk of health problems: Men≥ 94cm Women ≥ 80cm

• Greatly increased risk of health problems: Men ≥ 102cm Women ≥ 88cm

What causes unhealthy weight?

Both underweight and overweight and obesity is an imbalance between energy consumed (food and drink) and energy expended (exercise and activities of daily living). However, it often more complicated. Our decisions about how much and what we eat and how much energy we burn by physical activity is affected by many things including genetic, psychological, cultural and behavioural factors.

In Southwark, we have an important role in helping individuals, but also in persuading every part of our borough to recognise and help tackle the problem and tackle the environment we live in which may be contributing to us becoming an unhealthy weight. Southwark has the Southwark Healthy Weight Strategy and steering group, which includes representatives of various bodies across the borough including Southwark Council and the local NHS. The group looks at what can be done collectively to increase awareness and resources to tackle the issue and direct actions.

What can I do to help myself and my family to be a healthy weight?

NHS Choices website and Weight Concern has some good information and tips on how to eat healthier and lose weight

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/loseweight/Pages/Loseweighthome.aspx  http://www.weightconcern.co.uk/  

It is also important to:  

- Eat well http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Healthyeating.aspx   

- Get active http://www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/Fitness/Pages/Fitnesshome.aspx  

Southwark council physical activity opportunities http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/10096/physical_activity  

Opportunities for physical activity in London http://www.getactivelondon.com/

Join Change4life for you and your family http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/pages/change-for-life.aspx

See a health professional such as your GP, practice nurse or health visitor if you are concerned about how your weight is affecting your health or you are concerned about the weight of someone you care for.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Underweightadults.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Eating-disorders/Pages/Introduction.aspx  

Do you want to help promote healthy weight where you live or work? If you are interested in knowing more about how you can help promote healthy weight in groups you may be a member of or work with please contact the Southwark Health Improvement Team at healthy.southwark@southwarkpct.nhs.uk

Training

Contact Lorraine Baker in the Health Improvement Training team for information on free courses on healthy weight Lorraine.Baker@Southwarkpct.nhs.uk