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Diet and weight management

Being a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and getting more active can help you to live a happier, healthier and longer life.

In Leicester only 37 per cent of adults are a healthy weight, and more than a third of 11 year olds are overweight.

Lots of people in Leicester already exercise to keep fit and manage their weight, and more than a quarter of adults in Leicester eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. This can help protect you from diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

How to eat well

There is lots you can do to eat well at home. Many of us eat too much added sugar, which can increase the risk of diabetes, tooth decay and obesity but reducing the amount of sugar is actually quite easy. We have created some easy-to-follow recipe cards for you to make at home.

The Eat Well Guide from Public Health England can also help you plan a balanced diet.

Visit the change for life for some more great recipe ideas.

Eating well as a family has never been easier with the Food Plan supporting the Leicestershire Nutrition and Dietetics Service (www.lnds.nhs.uk). Through working with city school's and nurseries we have improved the nutrition standards and helped families hone their cooking skills.

What services can I access?

We provide a range of services across Leicester to support people to lose weight/maintain a healthy weight and eat more healthily: 

  • The Leicester Lifestyle Hub is a lifestyle referral hub. It involves getting referrals from healthcare professionals and then working with individuals so they can access the most suitable service to meet their health and wellbeing needs. 
  • If you are pregnant or have a child under four years old you could get Healthy Start vouchers to help buy some basic foods
  • Health trainers to help support you to make the first step to a healthier lifestyle by offering one-to-one support for adults to help you improve your health and wellbeing.
  • Weight management programmes such as Weight Watchers, and specialist groups such as DHAL (aimed at the South Asian community) and LEAP.