Commissioned by NHS England and Improvement, and delivered by NHS Digital, the new National Obesity Audit launched in England in April 2022. It aims to drive improvement in care for adults and children living with overweight and obesity by collecting and analysing data on people living with overweight and obesity and the services they access.
The audit will seek to improve the identification of people living with overweight and obesity and increase the number of people getting referred to and accessing weight management services. People living with overweight and obesity in England can access a tiered weight management pathway. What these tiers consist of varies by region but generally range from signposting to information sources at tier 1, education programmes at tier 2, to more multi-disciplinary interventions at tier 3 and 4.
The audit will also seek to improve the outcomes from services and improve the transition of care from child to adult services. It will do this by gathering person level data on all people referred to tiers 2,3, and 4 of the weight management service pathway.
As part of the steering group for the audit here at Diabetes UK, we will seek to ensure that people with diabetes who are living with overweight, or obesity are represented and that the audit helps drive better weight management services and understanding of how weight and type 2 diabetes are linked and that people receive the most appropriate care.
We know that access to weight management services across England vary and that many people who could benefit from tier 3 and 4 services (which includes procedures such as bariatric surgery) are denied access to potentially live changing care.
For more information on the National Obesity Audit please visit the NHS Digital website.
