What is a healthy weight?

Managing a healthy weight is where your body is supported to move well, feel energetic and lower your risk of long-term health conditions – it’s personal, and not the same for everyone.

Keeping your weight within a healthy range can support your overall well-being, increase your lifespan, and improve your quality of life. It helps lower the chances of developing chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some forms of cancer.

Maintaining a healthy weight also supports better physical, mental, and emotional health by providing more energy, increasing mobility, promoting restful sleep, and boosting self-confidence. 

Everyone’s journey to look after their weight is different – there is no one size fits all. Focusing on small, healthy habits can make a big difference to how you feel every day – inside and out.

You don’t need to do everything at once – little changes to what you eat, how you move and how you care for yourself can all support a healthy weight, whatever that looks like for you. 

Understanding your weight starts with knowing a healthy weight looks different for everyone. Your weight is part of the bigger picture – how you feel and how much energy you have for the things you want to do are just as important. 

You can learn more about your weight by looking at your BMI or waist to height ratio. It’s important to remember that your BMI and waist size or helpful starting points. BMI uses your height and weight to give a rough guide to health risk, but it can’t tell the difference between muscle and fat and does not take into account things like age or fitness. Waist size is a simple way to check how much weight you carry around your tummy,

Both offer general guidance about your weight and are not a full picture of your individual health.