“Maybe you’d like to lose weight or be more active, or perhaps you want to quit smoking for good, or cut back on your alcohol intake. Whatever your goals, the Better Health website should be your first port of call”
“When it comes to shedding the pounds, it helps to have some encouragement along the way – and Better Health has your back”
Facts/stats
The NHS Couch to 5K app has been downloaded more than 7 million times
(BBC Sport, April 2024)
In 2022-2023, 64% of adults in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity
(Office for Health Improvement and Disparities)
We all know we need to eat a balanced diet, exercise more and make healthier lifestyle choices to improve our wellbeing. But sometimes it can seem overwhelming, making it difficult to know how to begin. That’s where the NHS Better Health website comes in.
It’s jam-packed with free tools, apps, advice and inspiration to get you started on your journey to improving your health, and to support you every step of the way. Maybe you’d like to lose weight or be more active, or perhaps you want to quit smoking for good, or cut back on your alcohol intake. Whatever your goals, the Better Health website (https://www.nhs.uk/better-health) should be your first port of call. It shows that small changes to your life really can make a big difference to your health and wellbeing.
Lose weight
When it comes to shedding the pounds, it helps to have some encouragement along the way – and Better Health has your back. Download the free NHS Weight Loss Plan app and you’ll have constant support. It allows you to set goals, plan meals with healthier food choices, and keep track of your physical activity. The app records your progress over 12 weeks, cheering you on and offering much-needed motivation. The Better Health website also has lots of advice about calorie counting, portion sizes and healthy meals.
If you’re living with obesity and you also have diabetes, high blood pressure or both, ask your GP or local pharmacy team about the free 12-week NHS Digital Weight Management Programme. They will refer you to the programme if you’re eligible. The tools are all online so you’ll need a device with internet access.
If you prefer to get encouragement from a group or you have less weight to lose, check out the offers on well-known weight loss plans that are available through Better Health.
Get active
If you want to stay fit and healthy, you should try to do moderate intensity physical activities for 20 to 30 minutes every day, or at least 150 minutes every week. In addition, on at least two days a week, you should do some resistance-type exercises to keep your muscles, bones and joints strong.
This might sound daunting if it’s been a while since you exercised. But if you find an activity you absolutely love, you’ll never want to skip it. It’s all about fitting it into your routine so that it becomes second nature.
Better Health makes it easy for you to be more active. You can get fit at home by signing up for the free nine-week Couch to Fitness programme from Our Parks. Better Health has also teamed up with partners to provide introductory offers to paid-for online exercise platforms.
You can also try two free NHS fitness apps: Active 10, that tracks your steps and records every minute of your walking, and/or Couch to 5K, a running programme for absolute beginners.
Quit smoking
It’s never too late to quit smoking, even if you’ve tried before through willpower alone. The health benefits are almost instant – after just 48 hours, all the harmful carbon monoxide is flushed out of your system! And if you can stop smoking for 28 days, you’re five times more likely to quit for good.
Better Health can help you to quit with tips and advice, starting with the free NHS Quit Smoking app which gives you lots of instant motivation. It tracks your progress, provides daily support and even tells you how much money you’re saving by not smoking.
To increase your chances of quitting completely, Better Health recommends getting free expert help and support from your local stop smoking service. They can advise about the best combination of stop smoking aids to help you manage your cravings and any other withdrawal symptoms. Stop smoking aids include nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), such as gum, sprays, patches and lozenges; nicotine vapes (e-cigarettes); and prescription-only medicines (tablets). You might need to try a few different types before you find the combination that works for you.
Drink less alcohol
If you drink alcohol most days, cutting back can have huge benefits for your health – and your bank balance. Under UK guidelines, you should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol each week, spread over three or more days. This is the same as six pints of 4% beer or six medium (175ml) glasses of 13% wine. This is classed as low-risk drinking because there’s no such thing as a safe drinking level.
Better Health has lots of tips to support you when cutting back, including swapping to lower-strength or non-alcoholic drinks more of the time, sticking to a booze budget, and varying your social activities so that they don’t all involve drinking.
One of the easiest ways to reduce your alcohol intake is to stick to several drink-free days every week. To help you do this, download the NHS Drink Free Days app. It puts you in control by tracking your drink-free days, setting a weekly unit target, sending reminders when you need them, and celebrating your achievements.