World Obesity Day puts a spotlight on the systems that shape our health

This World Obesity Day (Tuesday, 4 March) will shift attention from individuals to the broader systems that influence health, including healthcare, government, food industries, media and the environments we work and live in.

As a partnership, we are committed to taking a compassionate and trauma-informed approach. We want to reframe obesity as a chronic relapsing condition, similar to diabetes, reduce stigma and improve access to effective weight management services.

A life-course approach is being adopted supporting people from pregnancy through to ageing well. To address obesity effectively and ensure a holistic and sustainable response across our region, we aim to co-produce solutions with partners such as local authorities, clinicians, health and care workforce, lived experience experts, NHS England and Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities colleagues and other integrated care boards. This approach acknowledges the complex factors that contribute to obesity, including socioeconomic status, mental health, trauma, and access to healthy food and physical activity. Our Obesity Strategy aligns with national priorities while focusing on local needs.

The challenge 

• 27% of adults in West Yorkshire live with obesity
• one in five children at reception age (4-5 years) and one in three by year 6 (10-11 years) live with overweight or obesity
• demand for services exceeds supply, with gaps in meeting population needs

What are we doing about it?

We are:

• developing a new integrated care pathway across the five places: Bradford District and Craven, Leeds, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield District
• supporting the rollout of new weight-loss medication and wraparound care alongside clinicians and pharmacists
• working with Brightsparks agency on insight work to help us understand the human and healthcare costs associated with obesity. This work will also look at exploring wider impacts: mental health demand, trauma, worklessness and social costs
• collaborating with experts: Sarah Le Brocq (All About Obesity) and Leeds Beckett University Obesity Voices, who lead lived experience engagement
• aligning with Doncaster’s compassionate approach model
• bringing partners together though our steering groups, adopting compassionate approaches and community of practice – obesity events 

Help shape future services

If you have lived experience of obesity, and would like to join one of our focus groups or get involved in our co-production work, register your interest by contacting Lisa Buchanan, Senior Project Manager (Prevention).