Weight loss tips

Losing weight and keeping it off isn't easy, but it has many benefits.

You may only need to make small changes to your lifestyle to maintain a healthy weight.

Obesity is linked to serious health problems and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancers of the breast, colon and prostate.

Most people who are overweight can blame their excess weight on eating more calories than they burn.

Weight loss tips

You can reduce your risk of weight-related health problems by losing weight through eating more healthily and doing more physical activity.

Top weight loss tips:

• Download the NHS weight loss plan: a 12 week diet and exercise plan (PDF, 5.2Mb).
• Cut down on calories by making simple healthy food swaps in your everyday diet.
• Increase your daily activity levels with these 10-minute workouts.
• Get tips on how to avoid temptation in diet danger zones.
• Think healthy eating is expensive? It doesn't have to be. Learn how to eat well on the cheap.
• For advice on how to stop piling the pounds back on, read about how to lose weight for life.

Why your waistline matters

Many doctors now believe that when it comes to your health, your waist measurement is important.

While knowing your body mass index (BMI) is a good way to work out if you're overweight, it doesn't tell the whole story.

BMI is a measure of how healthy your weight is for your height. You can work out what your BMI is by using our BMI healthy weight calculator.

If you have a high BMI, you're likely to be carrying extra fat. But your health could be at greater risk depending on where you store that fat.

Having a large amount of tummy fat (compared to fat around your bottom or thighs) makes you more likely to develop diabetes and heart problems.

A healthy waist circumference for men is less than 94cm (37 inches), and for women it's less than 80cm (32 inches).

Find out more in What's your BMI?