Who should take action?

• Directors of public health and their teams.
• Local authority commissioners.
• NHS commissioners.
• NHS and local authority communications teams.
• Providers of lifestyle weight management programmes.

What action should they take?

Local authorities should ensure an up-to-date list of local lifestyle weight management programmes for children and young people is maintained. This should form part of a list of services commissioned for the local obesity care or weight management pathway. It should be regularly disseminated, or accessible to organisations in the public, community and voluntary sectors.

Use children's centres, libraries, the local media, professional and voluntary organisations working with children and young people and schools to raise awareness of lifestyle weight management programmes. Any publicity should clearly describe:

• who the programme is for (age range, any eligibility criteria and the level of parental involvement needed)​

• how to enrol (including whether participants can self-refer or need a formal referral from a health professional)​

• programme aims​

• type of activities involved (to alleviate any anxieties about the unknown and to ensure expectations are realistic); 'healthy living' and any fun aspects should be emphasised​

• time and location, length of each session and number of sessions.

Health professionals, in particular, GPs, dietitians, health visitors, school nurses and those involved in delivering the National Child Measurement Programme and the Healthy Child Programme, should tell the parents or carers of children and young people who have been identified as being overweight or obese about local lifestyle weight management programmes. They should explain what these involve and how they can take part (including whether or not they can self-refer).

Schools, colleges, early years organisations, children's centres, looked-after children's teams and other professionals who work with children and young people (for example, youth workers, social workers and pastoral care workers), should raise awareness of lifestyle weight management programmes for overweight and obese children and young people. They should also raise awareness of how to enrol on them.