Posted on: 9 October 2025
A new report, More Than Weight: Exploring the Human, Social and Economic Cost of Obesity, released this week to coincide with World Mental Health Day (10 October), reveals a link between obesity and mental health conditions in West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.
Based on insights from local communities served by West Yorkshire and Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), the report highlights that 78% of participants living with obesity reported experiencing at least one mental health condition. The findings underline the need for integrated, person-centred obesity services that address physical and mental wellbeing.
Emm Irving, Head of Improving Population Health at West Yorkshire ICB, said:
“Obesity is a chronic, relapsing medical condition and we need our systems to treat it as such. We also need to recognise that obesity and mental health are closely connected, often reinforcing one another. That’s why compassion must be at the heart of how we respond.
“A huge part of this project has been about listening - truly listening - to people with lived experience of obesity, as well as to the health professionals working alongside them. If we’re serious about creating services that work, we must keep doing that.”
Co-created with people who have lived experience and supported by expert insight, the More Than Weight report and accompanying infographic explore the broader human, social and economic costs of obesity across the region. The work calls for more compassionate, trauma-informed and stigma-free approaches to health and weight management.
Alongside the report, we have also launched the West Yorkshire Weight Stigma Insight Library. This is a new online resource to help healthcare professionals, educators and community organisations better understand and address weight stigma.
Emm added:
“By sharing research, practical tools, and real-life experiences, the library aims to support more inclusive services, reduce discrimination and improve both mental and physical health outcomes for people living with obesity.”
Contact wyicb-wak.