Healthy weight

Summary

It is well evidenced that being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of ill health. For adults, being overweight or obese can lead to coronary heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), liver disease, osteoarthritis, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, and reduces healthy life expectancy.

People who are overweight or obese may also experience low self-esteem, mental health problems, and stigmatisation and discrimination because of their weight. There is also a significant economic impact, with the annual cost of obesity estimated to be as high as around £27bn, with NHS costs estimated at around £6bn, social care costs £352m and sickness absence costs to business estimated to be around £16m.[1]

Being overweight as a child has been associated with a range of health conditions including diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, gallstones, asthma and sleep-disordered breathing, and musculoskeletal conditions. Obese children are more likely to become obese adults and have a higher risk of morbidity, disability and premature mortality in adulthood. There is also evidence of lower school attainment, lower self-esteem and depression amongst overweight and obese children.

Being underweight can also be damaging to health, primarily affecting the immune system and bone strength. As with excess weight and obesity, there can be many causes of underweight including not eating a balanced diet, under-eating, having an overactive thyroid, dieting or having a mental health issue.

A healthy diet and physical activity are key to maintaining a healthy weight in both adults and children.

Interactive report

 

Key findings

Adults

• The Active Lives Survey (all persons 18+, 2023/24) estimates that 2 in every 3 adults (66.2%) in Lancashire-12 are categorised as overweight or obese which is significantly higher than the England estimate (64.5%). Across the districts obesity proportions are significantly higher than England in Burnley (70.4%), Rossendale (70.1%) and Pendle (68.4%). All other districts are statistically similar to England.
• In Blackpool (77.2%) and Blackburn with Darwen (69.8%) overweight and obesity proportions are significantly higher than for England.
• If focusing on just Obesity prevalence Lancashire again has a statistically significantly higher proportion (28.5%) than England (26.5%). In the districts the obesity proportions range from over 1 in 3 adults in Burnley to as low as 1 in 5 in West Lancashire. Burnley (34.7%), Fylde (31.8%), Rossendale (31.6%), Hyndburn (30%) all have significantly higher proportions of obese adults than England whilst in Ribble Valley (21.2%) and West Lancashire (20.9%) proportions are significantly lower.
• Obesity proportions are also significantly higher than England in both Blackpool (33.2%) and Blackburn with Darwen (30.8%).

Children

• The 2024/25 National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP)* shows in Lancashire-12 there are 3,005 reception (age 4-5) and 4,835 year 6 children (age 10-11) who are overweight or obese (excess weight). Unless otherwise stated the 2024/25 data is being referenced.

4-5 Year olds

• In Lancashire the proportion of reception-age children who are overweight or obese (25.7%) is significantly higher than England (23.5%). Obesity prevalence in 4-5 year olds is similar to England (11%) at 10.5%.
• 73.5% of reception-aged children in the Lancashire-12 area are a healthy weight, significantly worse than England (75.4%).
• Half of Lancashire's 12 districts (Lancaster, West Lancashire, Rossendale, Chorley, Burnley, Hyndburn) have a significantly higher proportion of overweight or obese reception aged children, the highest being Lancaster at 28.2%.
• Of the local neighbours, Blackpool (30.0%) also has a significantly higher rate of overweight and obesity, whereas Blackburn with Darwen (21.6%) is significantly lower than England.
• Ranked against its 15 nearest statistical neighbours, Lancashire's prevalence of  overweight and obese 4-5 year olds is the 2^nd highest. 8 of Lancashire's neighbours have an overweight and obesity prevalence that is lower than England, 12 are significantly lower than Lancashire.

10-11 year olds

• For year 6 children in Lancashire-12, 36.6% are overweight or obese, which is similar to England (36.2%), obesity prevalence (22.2%) is statistically similar to England (22.2%). 62% of children are of a healthy weight which is similar to England.
• Overweight and obesity prevalence varies across the districts, the proportion of overweight and obese children in significantly higher than England in  4 districts (Pendle, Hyndburn, Burnley, and Rossendale) and significantly lower than England in 2 (Wyre, and Ribble Valley). Pendle has the highest prevalence 42.3% and Ribble Valley has the lowest (29.3%).
• Local neighbours Blackpool (43.5%) and Blackburn with Darwen (38.6%) both have significantly higher rates of overweight or obesity in 10-11 year olds when compared with England (36.2%).
• Lancashire ranks 4^th out of 16 for the proportion of overweight or obese 10-11 year olds when compared to its 15 statistical neighbours, 11 of those local authorities have lower rates of excess weight when compared to England.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the NCMP data collection stopped, so this means for some data periods there may not be data available or counts are so low they are suppressed to avoid potential disclosure in some wards.*

For more details please see NHS Digital's NCMP webpage. For trends, please see the NCMP: trends in child body mass index webpage. 

For additional county, unitary and district data for adults and children and further information please see below. Please select the geography type to see what indicators are available as not all are provided across the different footprints. 

If the area has defaulted to 'Counties & UAs in North East region', click on the down arrowhead next to 'Geography', select 'Region' and then 'North West'. This is an issue which is not within our control, apologies.

* The 2021/22 NCMP was the first data collection since the COVID-19 pandemic that was unaffected by school closures and other public health measures. Over 1.17 million children were measured, which is 92% of all children that were eligible to take part. This participation rate, though high, is lower than pre-pandemic years where participation had been at 95% since the data collection in 2014 to 2015. This is likely to be due to resourcing issues within some local authorities during the pandemic recovery process. 
[1] Public Health England : Making the case for tackling obesity. Why invest? 2015

Page updated November 2025