Weight and your health
There are several free weight management services in North Somerset. You can join some of them without seeing a GP first. Answer a few questions and this page will show which ones you can use.
What this page is for
Most weight management services in North Somerset are free. Each one has its own rules about who can join. The rules depend on your BMI, any other health conditions you have, and what you have already tried.
This page checks those rules for you. Enter your height and weight, then answer a few questions. It will show which services you can join yourself, which ones we need to refer you to, and which ones you are not eligible for.
Check your BMI
Your details
Nothing you enter is sent to us. It stays on your device.
We have not asked about other conditions. At this BMI they do not affect which services you can use.
Your BMI
--enter your height and weight
The white line shows your BMI. Thresholds are 2.5 lower if you selected the ethnicity question.
BMI is a guide, not a full picture. It does not measure muscle, and it is less reliable if you are very muscular, over 65, or pregnant. Waist measurement is often a better guide to health risk. This page uses BMI because the services do.
Your options
Your options will appear once you have entered them.
Before you start
The things people ask us most about weight management and the medicines used for it.
The free community programmes listed above: a 12-week course, one-to-one support from a lifestyle advisor, or self-help tools you can use in your own time. For most people these are the right place to start.
NHS weight-loss medication is only prescribed at a BMI of 35 or more, and usually when you have other health conditions as well. That threshold is set nationally rather than by the practice.
It depends on your BMI and whether you have other health conditions. The questions above will tell you whether you meet the current criteria.
If you do, we would book you a 20-minute appointment with our nurse lead to talk it through: how the medicine works, what it involves week to week, and what happens if you stop. We invite people who meet the criteria through the year, but contact us if you think you qualify and have not heard from us.
It is a condition of the licence for these medicines, not a practice preference. They work best alongside changes to eating and activity, and the weight is more likely to stay off afterwards.
We book you onto a programme at the same time as we discuss medication, so the two start together.
Yes please, and not so that we can question your decision. It is so your record is accurate.
Medicines such as Mounjaro and Wegovy can affect other treatments you take, and it matters if you go into hospital, need an operation, or start a new medicine. Send us a message and we will add it to your notes.
It can, if you are taking tirzepatide (Mounjaro). It can reduce how well the combined pill is absorbed, so it may not work as reliably.
Use condoms as well, or change to a method that is not swallowed, for 4 weeks after you start and for 4 weeks after each dose increase.
Stop tirzepatide at least 1 month before you start trying for a baby, and straight away if you become pregnant.
Most people who get side effects notice them in the first few weeks, and they usually settle. The common ones are feeling sick and changes to digestion. The dose is increased slowly to make this easier.
We go through what to expect before you start anything, and you can contact us at any point if something does not feel right.
These are newer medicines, so the MHRA asks for any side effects to be reported through the Yellow Card scheme. That is routine monitoring of a new medicine rather than a sign that something is wrong. Tell us as well, so it is in your record.
Speak to us first. Weight-loss medication is not suitable if you have or have had an eating disorder or body dysmorphia, or if your mental health is unsettled at the moment. Some of the programmes may not be right either.
That does not mean there is no help, it means the right help is different, and we would rather work that out with you. You can also read about eating disorders on NHS.uk or contact Beat.
No. Every service listed on this page is free on the NHS.
Slimming World is free for the first 12 weeks. You can carry on afterwards by paying for yourself, but there is no obligation to.
If you are prescribed medication, the usual prescription charge applies unless you are exempt.
Talk to us first
Contact the practice before you join a programme or start any medication if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, have or have had an eating disorder, or have had weight-loss surgery in the last 2 years. Reception: 01934 842211.