Advice, tips and tools to help you make the best choices about your health and wellbeing.
Healthy Weight
To find out if you’re a healthy weight for your height, work out your body mass index (BMI).You can easily check your BMI by using this BMI calculator. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered healthy. The BMI calculator can also be used to check if your child is a healthy weight.
If you or your child are overweight
Weight gain occurs when you regularly eat and drink more calories than you burn through normal bodily functions and physical activity. Read about the hidden causes of weight gain.
To lose weight, you should try to cut down on how much you eat and drink and be more active.
Find out more about calories and your weight.
Next steps
Take action now and start losing weight.
You can:
- start the NHS weight loss plan
- sign up for weight loss email support
- start running with Couch to 5K
- try our 12-week fitness plan
- get fit with Strength and Flex
- try our tips to help you lose weight
- learn how to achieve a healthy, balanced diet
- read about walking for health
If you or your child are underweight
Being underweight isn’t good for your health either. If you’re concerned about yourself or someone else, read our pages on:
Exerise
Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64
Adults should do some type of physical activity every day. Any type of activity is good for you. The more you do the better.
Adults should:
- aim to be physically active every day. Any activity is better than none, and more is better still
- do strengthening activities that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week
- do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
- reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity.
You can also achieve your weekly activity target with:
- several short sessions of very vigorous intensity activity
- a mix of moderate, vigorous and very vigorous intensity activity
Make sure the type and intensity of your activity is appropriate for your level of fitness.
You can do your weekly target of physical activity on a single day or over 2 or more days. Whatever suits you.
These guidelines are also suitable for:
- disabled adults
- pregnant women and new mothers
When you start exercising after pregnancy, make sure your physical activity choices reflect your activity levels before pregnancy. You should include strength training.
After your 6 to 8 week postnatal check, you can start to do more intense activities if you feel you’re able to. Vigorous activity is not recommended if you were inactive before pregnancy.
What counts as moderate aerobic activity?
Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.
Examples of moderate intensity activities:
- brisk walking
- water aerobics
- riding a bike
- dancing
- doubles tennis
- pushing a lawn mower
- hiking
- rollerblading
Try the aerobic workout videos in the NHS Fitness Studio.
What counts as vigorous activity?
Vigorous intensity activity makes you breathe hard and fast. If you’re working at this level, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath.
In general, 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity can give similar health benefits to 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity.
Most moderate activities can become vigorous if you increase your effort.
Examples of vigorous activities:
- jogging or running
- swimming fast
- riding a bike fast or on hills
- walking up the stairs
- sports, like football, rugby, netball and hockey
- skipping rope
- aerobics
- gymnastics
- martial arts
Try the aerobic workout videos in the NHS Fitness Studio.
For a moderate to vigorous workout, try Couch to 5K, a 9-week running plan for beginners
What counts as very vigorous activity?
Very vigorous activities are exercises performed in short bursts of maximum effort broken up with rest.
This type of exercise is also known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
Examples of very vigorous activities:
- lifting heavy weights
- circuit training
- sprinting up hills
- interval running
- running up stairs
- spinning classes
What activities strengthen muscles?
To get health benefits from strength exercises, you should do them to the point where you need a short rest before repeating the activity.
There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether you’re at home or in a gym.
Examples of muscle-strengthening activities:
- carrying heavy shopping bags
- yoga
- pilates
- tai chi
- lifting weights
- working with resistance bands
- doing exercises that use your own body weight, such as push-ups and sit-ups
- heavy gardening, such as digging and shovelling
- wheeling a wheelchair
- lifting and carrying children
Try these exercise routines:
- strength workout videos in the NHS Fitness Studio
- Strength and Flex, a 5-week exercise plan for beginners, to improve your strength and flexibility
You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same or different days as your aerobic activity – whatever’s best for you.
Muscle-strengthening exercises are not always an aerobic activity, so you’ll need to do them in addition to your 150 minutes of aerobic activity.
Physical activity recommendations for other age groups:
GOV.UK also has a number of physical activity infographics.
Sleep and Tiredness
Why am I tired all the time?
Feeling exhausted is so common that it has its own acronym, TATT, which stands for “tired all the time”.We all feel tired from time to time. The reasons are usually obvious and include:
- too many late nights
- long hours spent at work
- a baby keeping you up at night
But tiredness or exhaustion that goes on for a long time is not normal. It can affect your ability to get on and enjoy your life.
Unexplained tiredness is one of the most common reasons for people to see their GP.
Why you might be tired all the time
Before you see a GP, you may want to work out how you became tired in the first place.
It can be helpful to think about:
- parts of your life, such as work and family, that might be particularly tiring
- any events that may have triggered your tiredness, such as bereavement or a relationship break-up
- how your lifestyle may be making you tired
A GP will look at the following causes of tiredness:
- psychological causes
- physical causes
- lifestyle causes
Psychological causes of tiredness
Psychological causes of tiredness are much more common than physical causes.
Most psychological causes lead to poor sleep or insomnia, both of which cause daytime tiredness.
Psychological causes include:
Stress
The strains of daily life can worry most of us at some point. It’s also worth remembering that even positive events, such as moving house or getting married, can cause stress.
Read more about how to deal with stress.
Emotional shock
A bereavement, redundancy or a relationship break-up can make you feel tired and exhausted.
Depression
If you feel sad, low and lacking in energy, and you also wake up tired, you may have depression.
Check how to tell if you have depression. See your GP if you think you are depressed.
Anxiety
If you have constant uncontrollable feelings of anxiety, you may have what doctors call generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) in adults.
As well as feeling worried and irritable, people with GAD often feel tired. See a GP, as medication and talking therapies can help.
If you think your tiredness may be a result of low mood or anxiety, try this short audio guide to dealing with your sleep problems.
Physical causes of tiredness
There are several health conditions that can make you feel tired or exhausted.
These include:
Tiredness can also be the result of:
- pregnancy – particularly in the first 12 weeks
- being overweight or obese – your body has to work harder to do everyday activities
- being underweight – poor muscle strength can make you tire more easily
- cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy
- carbon monoxide poisoning – especially if your gas boiler has not been serviced regularly
- side effects of medicines and some herbal remedies
If you have been feeling constantly tired for more than 4 weeks, it’s a good idea to see your GP so they can confirm or rule out a medical condition that could be causing your tiredness.
Read more about the 10 medical reasons for feeling tired.
Lifestyle causes of tiredness
In today’s 24/7 “always on” world, we often try to cram too much into our daily lives.
And to try to stay on top of things, we sometimes consume too much alcohol or caffeine, or eat sugary and high-fat snacks on the go rather than sitting down for a proper meal.
The main lifestyle causes of tiredness include:
Alcohol
Drinking too much interferes with the quality of your sleep. Stick to the guidelines of no more than 14 units a week for both men and women.
Read more about tips on cutting down on alcohol.
Exercise
Too much or too little exercise can affect how tired you feel.
Read more about the benefits of exercise.
Caffeine
Too much of this stimulant, found in tea, coffee, colas and energy drinks, can upset sleep and make you feel wound-up as well as tired.
Try decaffeinated tea and coffee, or gradually cut out caffeine altogether.
Night shifts
Night workers often find they get tired more easily. This is more likely if the timing of the shifts keeps changing.
Daytime naps
If you’re tired, you may nap during the day, which can make it more difficult to get a good night’s sleep.
Read how to change your lifestyle habits to boost your energy, with the energy ‘diet’.
Eat Well
Eating a balanced diet
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best.
This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
This page covers healthy eating advice for the general population.
People with special dietary needs or a medical condition should ask their doctor or a registered dietitian for advice.
Food groups in your diet
The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:
- eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day (see 5 A Day)
- base meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
- have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
- eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
- choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
- drink plenty of fluids (at least 6 to 8 glasses a day)
If you’re having foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar, have these less often and in small amounts.
Try to choose a variety of different foods from the 5 main food groups to get a wide range of nutrients.
Most people in the UK eat and drink too many calories, too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fish or fibre.
The Eatwell Guide does not apply to children under the age of 2 because they have different nutritional needs.
Between the ages of 2 and 5 years, children should gradually move to eating the same foods as the rest of the family in the proportions shown in the Eatwell Guide.
Fruit and vegetables: are you getting your 5 A Day?
Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals and fibre, and should make up just over a third of the food you eat each day.
It’s recommended that you eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced.
There’s evidence that people who eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
Eating 5 portions is not as hard as it sounds.
A portion is:
- 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables
- 30g of dried fruit – which should be kept to mealtimes
- 150ml glass of fruit juice or smoothie – but do not have more than 1 portion a day as these drinks are sugary and can damage teeth
Just 1 apple, banana, pear or similar-sized fruit is 1 portion each.
A slice of pineapple or melon is also 1 portion, and 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables is another portion.
Adding a tablespoon of dried fruit, such as raisins, to your morning cereal is an easy way to get 1 portion.
You could also swap your mid-morning biscuit for a banana, and add a side salad to your lunch.
In the evening, have a portion of vegetables with dinner and fresh fruit with plain, lower fat yoghurt for dessert to reach your 5 A Day.
Starchy foods in your diet
Starchy foods should make up just over a third of everything you eat. This means your meals should be based on these foods.
Choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, and brown, wholemeal or higher fibre white bread.
They contain more fibre, and usually more vitamins and minerals, than white varieties.
Potatoes with the skins on are a great source of fibre and vitamins. For example, when having boiled potatoes or a jacket potato, eat the skin too.
Milk and dairy foods (and alternatives)
Milk and dairy foods, such as cheese and yoghurt, are good sources of protein. They also contain calcium, which helps keep your bones healthy.
Go for lower fat and lower sugar products where possible.
Choose semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk, as well as lower fat hard cheeses or cottage cheese, and lower fat, lower sugar yoghurt.
Dairy alternatives, such as soya drinks, are also included in this food group.
When buying alternatives, choose unsweetened, calcium-fortified versions.
Find out more about milk and dairy foods
Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins
These foods are all good sources of protein, which is essential for the body to grow and repair itself.
They’re also good sources of a range of vitamins and minerals.
Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc and B vitamins. It’s also one of the main sources of vitamin B12.
Choose lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat. Always cook meat thoroughly.
Try to eat less red and processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages.
Eggs and fish are also good sources of protein, and contain many vitamins and minerals. Oily fish is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, including 1 portion of oily fish.
You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned, but remember that canned and smoked fish can often be high in salt.
Pulses, including beans, peas and lentils, are naturally very low in fat and high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Nuts are high in fibre, and unsalted nuts make a good snack. But they do still contain high levels of fat, so eat them in moderation.
Read more about eggs and pulses and beans.
Oils and spreads
Some fat in the diet is essential, but on average people in the UK eat too much saturated fat.
It’s important to get most of your fat from unsaturated oils and spreads.
Swapping to unsaturated fats can help lower cholesterol.
Remember that all types of fat are high in energy and should be eaten in small amounts.
Find out more about the different types of fats
Eat less saturated fat, sugar and salt
Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease.
Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.
Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which increases your risk of getting heart disease or having a stroke.
See 8 tips for healthy eating to find out more about why you need to cut down on saturated fat, sugar and salt, which foods they’re found in, and how to make healthier choices.
Need to lose weight?
Most adults in England are overweight or obese. Check whether you’re a healthy weight using the BMI calculator.
If you need to lose weight, you can use the NHS weight loss plan. It’s a free 12-week diet and exercise plan to help you lose weight and develop healthier habits.
The plan, which has been downloaded more than 2 million times, is designed to help you lose weight safely, and keep it off.