Who should take action?

• Local authority, NHS and other local commissioners​

• Directors of public health and public health teams

Actions

• Commissioners should focus on all of the following areas (focusing on just one at the expense of others may reduce effectiveness):

• raising awareness of the health problems caused by obesity and the benefits of being a healthier weight among partners and the public
• training to meet the needs of staff and volunteers (prioritising those who are working directly with local communities)
• influencing the wider determinants of health, including, for example, ensuring access to affordable, healthier food and drinks, and green space and built environments that encourage physical activity
• aiming action at both adults and children in a broad range of settings
• providing lifestyle weight management services for adults, children and families
• providing clinical services for treating obesity.

• Commissioners should fund both targeted and universal services that can help people achieve or maintain a healthy weight. The specific package of services should be based on local needs, but should include both top downapproaches such as planning cycle routes and food procurement specifications and bottom-up approaches such as running activities in local parks and breastfeeding peer support (as appropriate). They should include interventions that are known to be effective as outlined in existing NICE guidance.

• Commissioners should allocate some of their budget to help establish and sustain local community engagement activities such as small community projects or local community groups. This can be done by, for example, funding the expenses of the leaders of community walking groups, or providing small grants to hire meeting spaces.

• Commissioners should allocate some of their budget to innovative approaches to obesity prevention that are based on sound principles, have the support of the local community and are likely to be effective, but for which there is limited evidence. Funds for innovative approaches should be allocated within a framework of action learning and evaluation.