• A dozen cutting-edge projects will see thousands of patients across the UK benefitting from new approaches to tackling obesity.    
• £85 million grant funding from government and pharmaceutical company Lilly for new approaches such as using AI tools to improve patient care.    
• Round-the-clock virtual advice and AI-assisted triage among plans to bring care to underserved communities.

Patients in regions across the UK will be given new and easier ways to access obesity care through 12 new projects, from apps and round-the clock advice on WhatsApp to AI-powered triage.  

Through the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme (OPIP), projects are set to receive grant funding of up to £50 million from government and up to £35 million from pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly).  

They will reshape how obesity is treated and ease long-term pressure on frontline health services by using technology to give people new ways to access support. 

Putting advice and support at a patient’s fingertips marks a step change in how we can support people living with obesity. 

Among the projects, patients in Norfolk, Suffolk, and north east Essex will get the care they need more quickly through AI-assisted triage. This will mean people worried about their weight being able to fill in a short online health check from home – matching them to the right NHS support, whether that’s advice from a dietitian, or specialist clinical care.  

In Kent, up to 3,300 families – from pregnancy through to a child’s early years – will get round-the-clock AI powered advice on healthy eating, activity, sleep and stress, straight to their phone via WhatsApp. That means a parent worried about feeding their toddler in the middle of the night, or unsure where to turn for help, can get the right answer instantly – typing their questions into WhatsApp for an immediate response. This will mean people can get the advice they need without a GP or clinic appointment.  

In Leicester and Northamptonshire, patients will receive weight management support through an initial 6 new neighbourhood hubs, set up in local facilities like community pharmacies or gyms. Children and adults can be referred online, or through their GP, school, or council, standing to benefit from healthy living and lifestyle advice, adolescent specific apps, and, where clinically appropriate, weight loss medication. Whether someone asks for support in person or online, they’ll be supported to find the right care, with extra focus on deprived, Black, South Asian and rural communities who currently miss out most. 

People in Northern Ireland will be able to refer themselves and work with an NHS clinician to set personal goals, avoiding the wait for a GP appointment. While people in Wales will, for the first time, have one clear route into NHS weight management support – in English or Welsh – wherever they live. 

Science Secretary Liz Kendall said:   

Almost 1 in 3 adults in this country are living with obesity – that’s millions of people who deserve real support. 

These pioneering projects will meet people where they are – whether that is through a pharmacy round the corner, an app on their phone, or support in their own language. For a parent trying to give their child the best start, or someone who has struggled to access help for years, that can make all the difference.  

The evidence these projects generate will help remove the barriers that have stopped too many people getting they help they need, shaping better health services in the future for every one of us.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care James Murray said:   

Obesity is an epidemic and we need bold action to end it now. These innovative projects will bring together the NHS, local partners and industry to test new ways of delivering obesity care that uses the latest technology and is closer to people’s homes.  

What we learn from these projects has the potential to help people across the country live healthier lives, underlining this government’s commitment to deliver the 10-Year Health Plan and shift healthcare from treatment to prevention and reduce long-term pressure on vital NHS services.

Obesity is one of the UK’s most pressing health challenges, with almost one third of adults in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and one in four in Wales living with the condition*. 

Estimates suggest it costs UK society up to £107 billion per year**, including a bill of more than £9 billion per year for the NHS. Limited access to effective weight loss interventions, like specialist advice, guided physical activity or medicines, remains a key barrier for patients who need support.  

OPIP will aim to transform outcomes for a wide range patients, including people in deprived rural and coastal communities who often have to travel long distances for in-person care, minority ethnic communities, and for people with disabilities and early years families.   

Focusing on groups who face most difficulty accessing care will maximise the impact of support through these projects, helping to make the biggest possible difference to people’s lives.  

These projects will inform the future of obesity care and how the lessons learned from them can be rolled out across the country.  

Today’s announcement builds on a wider package of government action to end the UK’s obesity pandemic, with action to restrict junk food advertising on TV before 9pm and at all times online – expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories a year from children’s diets – and giving local authorities new powers to stop fast food shops opening near schools. 

The government has also consulted on banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s to protect children’s physical and mental health, and is revising the School Food Standards to ensure every child has access to nutritious meals. 

Other measures to end the UK’s obesity pandemic include free school meals being extended to every child in a household receiving Universal Credit, alongside the rollout of free breakfast clubs so children start the day ready to learn. 

To support families on the lowest incomes, the value of Healthy Start payments has been uplifted by 10%, helping parents afford healthy food for their children. And from January 2028, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be expanded to cover pre-packed milk-based and milk-substitute drinks – building on a policy that has already cut the average sugar content of soft drinks in scope by 47% between 2015 and 2024. 

Large food businesses will also be required to report against standardised metrics on healthier food sales by the end of this Parliament – bringing full transparency and accountability to the food and drink the country buys. 

Professor Naveed Sattar, Chair of the Obesity Healthcare Goals said: 

It is very encouraging to see investment in these projects, given the urgent need for the NHS to develop better ways of supporting the many people affected by obesity and its complications.

Each project brings distinct strengths and will explore innovative approaches to care, with the most successful strategies likely to shape future obesity services across the UK.

Prof Ben Bridgewater, Executive Chair, the Health Innovation Network said:  

Health innovation is a collective leadership opportunity. This is an example of partners, industry, national and devolved governments and the NHS aligning priorities to deliver innovation locally, closer to patients, that will have a national impact, improving health and wealth across the country. 

The Health Innovation Network will play a crucial role in leading the Communities of Practice to ensure learnings from the frontline are shared and fed back into the system, avoiding duplication and driving the implementation of the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme.

Chris Stokes, President and General Manager, Lilly UK and Northern Europe, said:   

Obesity is a significant health challenge for the UK.

We are proud to work with the government to support NHS partners in projects which have the potential to modernise obesity services and make a genuine difference in the lives of people living with obesity.

Claire Spooner, Director of the Innovation Service at Innovate UK, said:   

Innovate UK is delivering the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme that will set-up and test new models of care to enable patients living with obesity to access clinically appropriate weight management services.  

The programme aims to improve the health of patients living with obesity and is aligned with the NHS ambition to prevent rather than treat illness.

The projects are being led by an NHS Integrated Care Board or a Devolved Nation NHS Board, and many working with partners such as the British Heart Foundation, or Obesity UK.    

Eligible patients will be able to access support through the projects imminently, which will run until March 2029.

Notes to editors

The Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme is designed to simplify access to a range of weight loss interventions including lifestyle wraparound services such as nutritionists, psychologists, social prescribing, and, where clinically appropriate, pharmaceutical obesity treatments.      

•  All successful projects have been approved following a thorough application process.   
•  Lilly worked in partnership with DSIT and Innovate UK on the design and guidelines for the competition and is contributing grant funding of up to £35 million for successful applications.   
•  Lilly was not involved in the assessment, ranking, interview processor selection of successful applicants, however Lilly screened applications to ensure eligibility for providing arms-length grant funding.   
•  The Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK, directly supports the government’s Ten-Year Plan for the NHS, which sets out to make the NHS fit for the future by moving from analogue to digital systems, focusing on care within communities, and moving from sickness to prevention. It also supports the Life Sciences Sector Plan to achieve our ambition of becoming the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030, and forms part of the government’s Obesity Healthcare Goals programme.     
•  This programme is a result of the memorandum of understanding between the government and Lilly, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, announced at the International Investment Summit in October 2024, with the intent to tackle significant health challenges including obesity.  

Projects

The projects receiving funding through the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme:

Kent and Medway – Too many women in Medway face their pregnancy alone with a concern about their weight they don’t know how to manage because the right support hasn’t been easy to find or easy to access. When they do get support, too many women feel it is not free of judgement. This programme changes that, supporting 3,300 families from pregnancy through to a child’s early years. Support is available from the moment a woman decides she wants it, without the need for a clinician to make a referral. Women in Medway can access personalised health guidance through WhatsApp, any time of day or night. The AI-powered service responds in more than 20 languages and by voice note for women who find reading difficult. Women can ask questions, track their health, and get honest information. For women who want more intensive support, a dedicated AI health coach will check in regularly, help set goals, and work alongside the WhatsApp service at whatever pace suits her. Women who need specialist input can be referred to a team that includes an obesity specialist, psychologist and dietitian – the kind of expert and joined-up care that has until now been hard to access in the most deprived parts of Medway. 

Norfolk, north east Essex, and Suffolk – Over the next 3 years, up to 85,270 patients will be able to access NHS weight management and obesity care through a single, simpler service, using AI to match patients to the right care or treatment: digital education, dietary advice, behavioural and lifestyle support, or specialist care. New Neighbourhood Hubs and collaboration with community pharmacies will also make it easier for eligible patients with the greatest clinical need to access support closer to home, meaning fewer journeys and shorter waits. 

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland – Patients will benefit from weight management support through an initial 6 new neighbourhood hubs setup in local facilities like community pharmacies or gyms. Patients will have a digital point of access, alongside referral routes via GPs, pharmacies, schools and councils – and through outreach into the communities least likely to seek help. Children and adults stand to benefit from healthy living and lifestyle advice, adolescent specific apps, behavioural support programmes (digital, face to face and small group), family-based interventions, and, where clinically appropriate, weight loss medication. Whether someone asks for support in person or online, they’ll be supported to find the right care, with extra focus on deprived, Black, South Asian and rural communities who currently miss out most. 

Coventry and Warwickshire – People across Coventry and Warwickshire who want support to achieve and maintain a healthier weight will be able to access trusted health information, practical tools and lifestyle advice through a new smartphone app. The app will help people explore the support options available to them, based on their individual needs and circumstances, and make it easier to access services where appropriate. Support available through the programme will include a range of community-based options, such as local support groups, clinics and other services delivered closer to where people live. By bringing together new and existing support in one place, the programme will make it easier for people to find and access the help that is right for them, more quickly and in a way that fits their lives. 

Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country – The BRIDGE project creates a single, straightforward route into weight management support. You can be referred by your GP, your pharmacist, or you can refer yourself, through a website that works in over 18 languages. Once you’re in, you’re assessed quickly and matched to the right support for your situation: a clinical programme that combines medication with one-to-one and group sessions, all delivered by a specialist team. If you’re not comfortable using a phone or computer, there are face-to-face options too. Throughout, you’re supported by people who understand your community and your circumstances. The service is built around the groups who have historically found it hardest to get help – whether you’re living with a serious mental health condition, trying to get a knee operation, or a young person living with severe obesity – and it’s designed to keep supporting you for the long term, not just get you through the door. 

Dorset – A new service in Dorset will help people live healthier lives in a way that works for them. People will be supported from the start with a personal conversation to understand their needs. They might join a local group, get support from a health coach by phone or online, or use an easy app or website to track progress and stay motivated. A young person who has care experience might get help through a small, supportive group to build confidence, while an adult with a learning disability could have more one‑to‑one support and join local activities that feel safe and welcoming. The service will bring together local organisations, health services, and community groups to make support easier to access, more personal, and fair for everyone.   

Lincolnshire – Specialist weight management support will come to Lincolnshire for the first time, so people will no longer need to travel outside the county for the care they need. Designed for people who meet certain requirements and need more specialist support, doctors and mental health experts will be available face-to-face, as well as through phone calls and apps, making it easy to get support in a way that suits people’s lives. After a short checks, patients will be guided to the right weight management help for them, whether it be advice and support, or more specialist care. 

Northern Ireland – In Northern Ireland, a neighbourhood-based service will offer multiple routes into support, including people being able to refer themselves, stopping delays waiting for a GP appointment. Personalised goals will be agreed between clinicians and patients, with apps giving nutrition or exercise advice, and easier access to weight management medication where clinically appropriate.  

Wales – This project will deliver Wales’s first fully integrated national obesity care pathway, with a bilingual digital entry point linked to NHS systems, making it easier for people across Wales to access the support that is right for them, whether in English or in Welsh. It will create a simple way for people to find help and connect to support that fits around their daily lives, whether online or close to home. People will be able to connect to welcoming, stigma-free support in their local communities through local groups, activities, and one-to-one help, alongside online options where useful. 

Lanarkshire – Weight management tools including dietary advice, physical activity information and behaviour change guidance will be available straight from a patient’s phone or computer. The new digital platform, co-designed with patients and clinicians, is designed to support a range of public health needs as they evolve including Type 2 diabetes prevention & remission and cardiovascular disease risk reduction, bringing weight management support in Scotland up to speed with how people live their lives today.     

Midlothian – The LIMITLESS STRIDE programme in Scotland will provide access to weight management support for up to 10,000 people via a digitally-powered care pathway. LIMITLESS is for people in NHS Lothian living with obesity and other related clinical conditions like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. It will give them immediate access to information, advice, professional assessment and treatment, including obesity medicines if clinically appropriate, all accessed via the existing NHS Scotland health app. This initiative will be delivered by NHS Lothian in partnership with the Defence Medical Command (DMedC). Defence provision known as STRIDE, will tailor the platform to support the Armed Forces community UK-wide. It will provide a flexible pathway designed to support serving personnel through geographic moves and deployment, using a combination of virtual support and in-person exercise interventions with careful evaluation of effect. 

South London – In South London, people will get access to obesity care through a pharmacy on their high street, along with exercise groups and dietary advice. Support will be available both online and in person, making it easier for people to access help in the way that suits them best. 

Statistical References

*Scottish Health Survey: results and reports – gov.scot; Adults’ overweight and obesity – NHS England Digital.

** The_economic_and_productivity_costs_of_obesity_and_overweight_in_the_UK_.pdf