Ask your GP about the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme
The NHS Long Term plan committed to providing access to weight management services for people living with obesity and a diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension or both.
In order to meet this commitment, the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme offers a digital support programme for adults living with obesity plus either diabetes or hypertension, or both, to help them to manage their weight.
Currently, over 11.4 million adults across England are living with obesity (25% of all adults). Obesity is a serious health concern that increases the risks of many other health conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems, mental health problems, and some cancers.
The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is a 12-week behavioural and lifestyle management programme.
As a digital programme, it offers an alternative means of accessing support, which emerging evidence from the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme suggests can perform as well as face to face services, with additional benefits in reaching a younger cohort and offering increased flexibility of access. It is also aligned with social distancing in the context of COVID-19.
The model is based on GP referral to a ‘Referral Hub’, which will triage users to one of three levels of intervention. Users will then have a choice of provider for a 12-week, digital weight management service.
MoreLife, which has supported thousands of people to bring about long-lasting and life-saving change in their weight over the past 20 years, has been chosen by NHS England as one of the providers of its new The Digital Weight Management Programme.
Eligibility
The NHS Digital Weight Management Programme is offered to adults with a diagnosis of diabetes (Type 2 or Type 1) or hypertension or both, with a BMI of 30+ kg/m2 (adjusted to ≥27.5 for ethnicity).
An individual who meets any one or more of the following exclusion criteria is not eligible to access the Service:
- Is pregnant
- Has an active eating disorder
- People for whom a weight management programme is considered to pose greater risk of harm than benefit.
- Has had bariatric surgery in the last two years
MoreLife Managing My Weight programme
Our 12-week ‘Managing My Weight’ programme is driven by scientific evidence and clinical research from Leeds Beckett University to support you to manage your weight and improve your health and wellbeing from the comfort of your own home.
How is the programme delivered?
Hosted on our ‘My Life Plan’ digital platform, our 12-week digital programme is delivered through a series of videos produced by our expert team of weight management dietitians.
There are information sheets and activities to keep you engaged and on-track during and beyond the programme.
Participants also have access to our closed Facebook groups where you can share your journey and experiences with others in a friendly social setting.
What will the programme cover?
The 12-week lesson plans include the importance of physical activity, sleep and stress levels in addition to understanding topics such as calories, portion sizes, food habits and managing social situations.
Accessibility
Our programmes are fully inclusive.
We have included a tool that allows the programme to be translated into other languages and all programme content comes with subtitles, can be read aloud, or enlarged to help you learn with ease.
How do I take part?
Ask your GP about the Digital Weight Management Programme.
GPs across the country are encouraged to refer people living with obesity and who have diabetes or hypertension or both.
If you are referred by your GP you will be sent a notification with a link to join one of the programmes. Follow the link and you will be presented with a choice of providers.
If you choose the MoreLife ‘My Life Plan’ platform we will be delighted to welcome you.
