Quality statement 5: Providing information about local and national weight management interventions and services
Quality statement
People identified as living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity are given sources of information and details of local and national interventions and services. [new 2025]
Rationale
Understanding what interventions and services are available and what they involve will help to ensure that people identified as living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity can engage with the most appropriate interventions and services that meet their needs and preferences.
Quality measures
The following measures can be used to assess the quality of care or service provision specified in the statement. They are examples of how the statement can be measured, and can be adapted and used flexibly.
Process
Proportion of people identified as living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity in the last 12 months who receive information on local and national interventions and services in the last 12 months.
Numerator – the number in the denominator who receive information on local and national interventions and services in the last 12 months.
Denominator – the number of people identified as living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity in the last 12 months.
Data source: Data can be collected from information recorded locally by healthcare professionals and provider organisations, for example from the electronic medical record.
Outcome
Rates of access to local and national interventions and services by people living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity.
Data source: The National Obesity Audit includes the number of weight management service referrals by provider.
What the quality statement means for different audiences
Service providers (including health promotion services, primary care, behavioural overweight and obesity management services) ensure that their staff have access to information on local and national interventions and services and give this to people identified as living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity.
Health and social care practitioners (including GPs, nurses, health promoters, dietitians) ensure that they know what local and national interventions and services are available and that they are aware of the details of what each involves, and give this to people identified as living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity when appropriate.
Commissioners ensure that they maintain lists of up-to-date information on available local and national interventions and services that are accessible within the areas they commission, and make it available to the public and health and social care organisations and practitioners.
People interested in treatment for overweight, obesity or central adiposity are given information on services that may help them manage their weight.
Source guidance
Overweight and obesity management. NICE guideline NG246 (2025), recommendations 1.3.4, 1.11.5, 1.11.11 and 1.12.6
The 12-month timeframe in the process measure is based on advice from the NICE quality standards advisory committee. The timeframe is not derived from the NICE guideline on overweight and obesity management. It is considered a practical timeframe to enable stakeholders to measure performance.
Definitions of terms used in this quality statement
Overweight, obesity and central adiposity
Overweight and obesity are chronic, relapsing and progressive conditions characterised by excess body fat, that can lead to significant health and social difficulties associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality.
In adults they are usually defined by body mass index measurements:
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healthy weight: BMI 18.5 kg/m2 to 24.9 kg/m2
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overweight: BMI 25 kg/m2 to 29.9 kg/m2
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obesity class 1: BMI 30 kg/m2 to 34.9 kg/m2
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obesity class 2: BMI 35 kg/m2 to 39.9 kg/m2
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obesity class 3: BMI 40 kg/m2 or more.
Clinical judgement should be used when interpreting the healthy weight category because a person in this category may nevertheless have central adiposity (the accumulation of excess fat in the abdominal area). People with a South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African–Caribbean background are prone to central adiposity and their cardiometabolic risk occurs at lower BMI, so lower BMI thresholds should be used as a practical measure of overweight and obesity:
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overweight: BMI 23 kg/m2 to 27.4 kg/m2
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obesity: BMI 27.5 kg/m2 or above.
BMI should be interpreted with caution in adults with high muscle mass because it may be a less accurate measure of central adiposity in this group.
BMI should be interpreted with caution in people aged 65 and over, taking into account comorbidities, conditions that may affect functional capacity and the possible protective effect of having a slightly higher BMI when older.
BMI can be used as a practical estimate of overweight and obesity in children and young people if charts used are appropriate for children and young people and adjusted for age and sex:
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overweight: BMI 91st centile + 1.34 standard deviations (SDs)
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clinical obesity: BMI 98th centile + 2.05 SDs
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severe obesity: BMI 99.6th centile + 2.68 SDs.
Central adiposity in adults with a BMI under 35 kg/m2 of both sexes and all ethnicities, including adults with high muscle mass, can be classified based on waist-to-height ratio:
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healthy central adiposity: waist-to-height ratio 0.4 to 0.49, indicating no increased health risks
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increased central adiposity: waist-to-height ratio 0.5 to 0.59, indicating increased health risks
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high central adiposity: waist-to-height ratio 0.6 or more, indicating further increased health risks.
Central adiposity in children and young people of both sexes and all ethnicities can be based on waist-to-height ratio as follows:
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healthy central adiposity: waist-to-height ratio 0.4 to 0.49, indicating no increased health risk
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increased central adiposity: waist-to-height ratio 0.5 to 0.59, indicating increased health risk
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high central adiposity: waist-to-height ratio 0.6 or more, indicating further increased health risk.
[Adapted from NICE's guideline on overweight and obesity management, recommendations 1.9.10, 1.9.11, 1.9.14, 1.10.7, 1.10.9, 1.10.10, 1.19.12 and 1.19.13]
Equality and diversity considerations
Some people living with overweight, obesity or central adiposity, such as those who may lack capacity, those with a learning disability or those experiencing homelessness may benefit from the involvement of an advocate when discussing available local interventions and national programmes (see NICE's guidelines on advocacy services for adults with health and social care needs and integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness).