Healthy Weight
If you're overweight or obese, losing weight can reduce your risk of some potentially serious health problems.
Losing weight, even 5% of your current weight, will bring about a range of benefits. It will:
- reduce your risk of a heart attack
- reduce your chance of getting diabetes
- reduce your risk of cancer.
Get Moving with Counterweight - Adult
Counterweight is an education programme for healthy living and weight management.
It consists of 6 educational sessions held every 2 weeks over a 3-month period, followed by 2 further reviews within the year.
The programme aims to:
- Help you change your eating behaviour and physical activity levels for the long term
- Help you achieve a medically worthwhile weight loss of between 5-10% of your starting weight
- Help you maintain your weight loss
- Improve your health generally
Counterweight is available through GP referral only. If you have a BMI of 30 or above and would like to lose weight ask your GP to refer you onto the Counterweight Programme.
GetGoing - Child healthy weight
Get Going is an NHS Lothian child healthy weight programme. It is an eight-week course delivered by trained Healthy Lifestyle Coaches in community venues and Xcite Leisure facilities.
The emphasis is on fun and feeling good. It's about getting active as a family and working together to make small, realistic lifestyle changes.
The programme includes:
- An introductory one-to-one appointment between the family and coach.
- Six 90-minute group sessions, covering healthy eating, physical activity and making positive lifestyle choices.
- Opportunities for children to make friends and take part in fun, active games whilst parents/carers get the chance to share ideas and experiences.
- A follow up one-to-one appointment at the end to help the family make a long-term plan to continue working towards a healthy lifestyle.
- An optional follow after three and six months
The Get Going programme is available through a self-referral or referral from your GP or health professional.
Download the GetGoing Leaflet (PDF) [804KB] (opens new window) for more information
Further Information
For more information on Get Going visit NHS Lothian or contact:
Administrator, Dietetics Department, Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
Tel: 0131 536 0302 (1.30pm - 5.00pm)