Healthy Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for good health. Our weight is determined by the balance between what we eat and drink and how active we are.

Being overweight increases risk of developing health problems including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and some types of cancer. If you’re overweight, making small simple changes can help.

National NHS Weight Loss Plan

The free 12 week NHS Weight Loss Plan helps you to start healthier eating habits, be more active and start losing weight.
The plan is designed to help you to:

• set weight loss goals & record your progress
• use the BMI calculator to customise your plan
• plan your meals & make healthier food choices
• get more active and burn more calories

Download the free NHS Weight Loss Plan.

Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a good way to check if you're a healthy weight. For adults, BMI is a measure of whether you're a healthy weight for your height. For children aged two and over, BMI centile is used. This is a measure of whether the child is a healthy weight for their height, age, and sex.

If you have a BMI above the healthy range you are at raised risk of weight-related health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

Some adults who have a lot of muscle may have a BMI above a healthy range. For example, professional rugby players can have an ‘obese’ BMI result despite having very little body fat. However, this will not apply to most people.

BMI for adults

BMI takes into account that people come in different shapes and sizes. That's why a range of BMIs is considered healthy for an adult of any given height.

A BMI above the healthy range indicates that you're heavier than is healthy for your height.

The ranges below only apply to adults. BMI results are interpreted differently for children.

• BMI below 18.5: a score this low means that you may be underweight. There are a number of possible reasons for this. Your GP can help you find out more and achieve a healthy weight.
• BMI between 18.5-24.9: this is a healthy range. It shows that you're a healthy weight for your height. However, it's still important to eat a healthy, balanced diet and include physical activity in your daily life if you want to maintain a healthy weight.
• BMI score of 25 or more: your BMI is above the ideal range and this score means you may be overweight. This means that you're heavier than is healthy for someone of your height. Excess weight can put you at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
• BMI of 30 or more: a BMI above 30 is classified as obese. Being obese puts you at a raised risk of health problems such as heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.

Losing weight will bring significant health improvements, and your GP can help.

BMI for children

BMI results are interpreted differently for children.

When interpreting BMI for a child, health professionals look at a child's weight in relation to their height, age, and sex. The result is called the child’s BMI centile. BMI centile is a good way of telling whether a child is a healthy weight and is used by healthcare professionals. Using your child’s BMI centile, a healthcare professional can tell whether they're growing as expected.

Some medical conditions or treatments may mean that BMI centile is not the best way to measure whether your child is a healthy weight. Your GP or other health professional can discuss this with you.

Research shows that children who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of ill health during childhood and in later life.

For more information, visit the 'healthy weight' pages on the NHS website.