Adult healthy weight 

This content is part of the Waltham Forest JSNA. To see other JSNA content, visit the JSNA landing page

Obesity is a global and complex public health concern. It is associated with reduced life expectancy and is a risk factor for a range of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, liver, and respiratory disease, and can also impact on mental health. The risk and severity of these diseases increases with a higher body mass index, BMI. 

Sport England’s Active Lives Adult Survey data provides routine, robust BMI data to estimate the number of people who are overweight or obese at local authority level. A person is classified as overweight if their BMI is over 25.  

According to the 2021 to 2022 survey, just over half of adults aged 18 and over in Waltham Forest are classified overweight and obese 53.2%. This is similar to the London average and lower than the England average 63.8%. 

Source: OHID Public Health Outcomes Framework. Data from Active Lives Adult Survey (Sport England). Date accessed: 09 June 2023.