The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued guidelines for NHS England to send overweight people to slimming classes, aiming at a 3% loss in weight, as even such a small change will lead to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. The new approach seeks a lifelong reduction, not what is often termed as “yo-yo dieting”, with lost weight coming back after the initial success. It is estimated that one in four adults in the UK are obese with a further 42% of men and 32% of women classed as overweight. Obesity is costing the NHS £5.1 billion annually.
