Weight management for children

Here you will find details of the services and support to help with children and families with managing their weight.

The NHS and local partners are working together to undertake a system review of the whole weight management options for adults and children. The timescales for the review are yet to be decided.

In the interim, we have described below the current support that is available for children and families.

Services are divided into four levels (or tiers) of care.

Tier 1: Universal services

The following sources of support are available to all.

NHS Healthier Families – Offers tips, tools, and resources to help families eat better, move more, and live healthier lives together.
NHS Children’s Weight – Provides guidance on supporting children to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Health for kids – Offers lifestyle advice and health information for families with primary school aged children.
Health for under 5’s – Offers healthy mealtime advice.
Health for Teens – Lifestyle – Offers lifestyle advice and health information tailored specifically for teenagers.
Active Together – Being active at home and activities available around the County and City for children aged 5+.
Active Together – Being active at home and activities available around the County and City for children under 5 years.
NHS Fitness Plan – Information on the different types of activity for children aged 5-18 years with activity videos (10-30mins long depending on the video chosen).
NHS Best Start in Life – The place for trusted NHS advice and guidance to help you have a healthy and happy baby during pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
Leicestershire Partnership Trust Nutrition and Dietetics Service – offers advice about nutrition and diet.

Tier 2: Lifestyle weight management services

Tier two services provide a higher level of support for people who meet specific criteria:

Leicestershire Family Hubs – Connects families with local services, support, and activities to help children and young people thrive.
Leicester City Family Hubs – Family Hubs provide help and support to families with children and young people, bringing together a variety of services in one place and making it easier to access the care and guidance you need.
Leicestershire Partnership Trust Nutrition and Dietetics Service
Tier 2 Plus Weight Management Service. This service was established on a trial basis and came to an end on 31^st March 2025. There is no replacement for this service.

Tier 3 Specialist weight management services

In Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland there is a Children and Young People’s (C&YP) Tier 3 Weight Management pilot service, which comes to an end on 31 March 2027. The service provides tailored support from a multi-disciplinary team, which could include medication.

To ensure patients who are already on the waiting list can be seen and managed before the end of the pilot, the service is not accepting new referrals. The service will continue to manage children and young people already under its care until March 2027.

We are hoping to be able to offer a revised tier three service in the future. This is not currently confirmed and timescales and eligibility are yet to be determined.

Mental health

If there are any concerns with mental health along with weight, parents can make a referral to https://firststepsed.co.uk/make-a-referral/

There are also a wealth of other mental health services for children and young people locally: Young people – Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

Useful links

Weight management overview for adults and children
Weight management for adults
Learn more about obesity on the national NHS website, including BMI checker: national NHS website