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CKS is no longer commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE remains committed to providing a replacement service for CKS and is currently reviewing its options. In the meantime, although CKS content is now not being maintained, it still remains relevant and will continue to be made available. CKS content was generated under a programme of topic creation and update. To check if the topic you are viewing is current or out of date, please refer to the topic publication details by clicking on the 'How up-to-date is this topic?' link in the left hand menu on individual topic pages.

Obesity
In the right clinical topic?

Age from 18 years onwards

This CKS topic covers the management of overweight and obese adults and the use of drugs for weight loss.

This CKS topic incorporates recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline Obesity: guidance on the prevention, identification, assessment, and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children [NICE, 2006].

This CKS topic does not cover the management of overweight and obese children, or weight management in pregnancy and eating disorders, or the primary prevention of obesity. It does not provide healthcare professionals with detailed, multidisciplinary solutions to obesity, or in-depth information about behavioural interventions. It also does not cover in detail how to maintain weight loss or how dietary recommendations might be tailored for people with conditions such as diabetes or hyperlipidaemia.

There are separate CKS topics on a number of conditions for which obesity is a risk factor: Angina, CVD risk assessment and management, Depression, Hypertension - not diabetic, Lipid modification - CVD prevention, and Osteoarthritis. The CKS topic on Smoking cessation deals with issues relating to weight gain in people who quit smoking.

The target audience for this CKS topic is healthcare professionals working within the NHS in England, and providing first contact or primary health care. Patient information from NHS Choices is intended to be printed and given to people with this condition or their carers.

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