Managing your Weight

Why is being overweight bad for my health?

Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect your health. Excess body fat is not just harmless tissue that you carry around as extra padding.

The problem with excess body fat is that it produces hormones and other substances that can put you more at risk of ill-health.

Being very overweight can put you at greater risk of several serious and possibly life-threatening medical conditions including coronary heart disease and diabetes.

The extra weight itself may lead to wear and tear on joints and cause symptoms such as pain and breathlessness.

Losing weight

If you have been overweight for a long time, you have probably tried to lose weight several times in the past. Some of your attempts may have worked for a while. But if you are still very overweight, it probably means that the changes you tried to make were too hard to keep up forever.

An effective weight loss plan should involve regular physical activity and a healthy eating plan.

Avoid crash diets as these are not a healthy option and you’ll probably find it difficult to keep the weight off. See our information sheets on Crash Diets in our Any questions? section.

Getting advice

The British Heart Foundation has produced several booklets on how to lose weight gradually.

So you want to lose weight for good - outlines healthy eating tips and meal plans for people who need to lose a little weight.

Taking control of your weight - for people who have a lot of weight to lose. Find out more about the services and treatments that may be available to help you lose weight successfully – and permanently.

There are many other publications to help you make the most of healthy eating and physical activity which you will find in our publications section.  These include Food should be fun ..and healthy; Eating for your heart, Cut the saturated fat, Get active and Put your heart into walking.

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