Obesity is a significant public health concern across our system. In West Yorkshire, 27% of adults are living with obesity with 1 in 5 children living with overweight or obesity at reception age (4-5 years) and 1 in 3 children by year six (10-11 years).
We are working with partners to co-produce a strategy to support a compassionate and trauma-informed approach to weight management and living well with obesity.
We want to reframe the narrative around obesity, both to reduce stigma and to recognise obesity as a long-term, relapsing condition, on a par with others such as diabetes. This includes working closely with our colleagues across Bradford, Leeds, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield to support their long-term plans to create for weight management services.
We want to support people living with obesity (using the principles of trauma-informed) and develop services which embed this approach. We recognise the excellent work done in this area at Doncaster Council around adopting a compassionate approach, and some of our places have already started to implement this.
Since May 2023, we have held two workshops to understand what services are like in West Yorkshire and how people are accessing them. Three workstreams are looking at: understanding the data and costs to humans and services, co-production and involving people, and stigma. Improving Population Health Programme 2022/2023 Annual Report.
Get involved in shaping our services
Involving people at every stage of what we do is crucial to getting it right, which is why we have enlisted Sarah Le Brocq, Founder of All about Obesity, and a leading obesity advocate in the UK, to set up our People Reference Group alongside Leeds Beckett University Obesity Voices. We recognise the importance of co-production, engagement and making sure people are at the heart of this work.
To get involved and join our Lived Experience Group email Lisa Buchanan, Senior Project Manager (Prevention).
Update: 23 April 2025
We’re working to better understand the experiences of people with lived experience of obesity, alongside the perspectives of the healthcare professionals involved in providing support. Whether you have personal experience or work in healthcare, your insights are vital to improving support and shaping better services. There are two surveys currently open - one for healthcare professionals and one for people with lived experience:
We are also inviting people with lived experience of obesity to take part in a one-time focus group session. For more details about both surveys and to express an interest in joining a focus group see our involvement pages.
Join our community of practice
Want to join our online 'community of practice: better supporting people living with obesity' in West Yorkshire? We have a wealth of guest speakers and provide an update on our work. This is a space for:
- sharing good practice
- learning more about other services and what they do
- understanding more about successful programs or interventions
- learning from other places about how the wider system is being brought together.
Meetings take place in June and December and are no longer than 1.5 hours. To become a member email Lisa Buchanan, Senior Project Manager (Prevention). Watch our videos below to find out more about our approach.