Conversations about weight in health, care and the community

Earlier this year, North Somerset Council, in partnership with Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council, commissioned The Care Forum to engage with our residents and gather insights into their experiences of weight and health. The research aimed to better understand the experiences of people living with overweight and obesity when accessing healthcare services, within workplace settings, and in community and social care environments where weight and health has been discussed.

This work forms part of the Why Weight? Pledge, a collaborative initiative to create environments where everyone in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire has the access and ability to eat well, feel well and be active. Further information about the Pledge is available on the Healthier Together website.

The research phase of the work with The Care Forum is now complete, and an insights report titled Conversations about Weight, produced by The Care Forum has been published.  In summary, the findings show that supportive, person-centred conversations can improve people’s experiences of care, while stigma, assumptions and poorly handled conversations can have a lasting negative effect.

We are now moving into the next stage of the project with The Care Forum, which will focus on co-producing a practical resource to support health and care professionals and others to have sensitive, respectful and stigma-informed conversations about weight.

To help shape this work, we are asking local practitioners to complete a short survey about any resources, guidance, training or tools you may have used when discussing weight with someone within your professional role. We are keen to learn what has worked well, what has been less helpful, and what you would like to see included in a future resource.

The survey takes approximately 5–8 minutes to complete and will remain open until the 15th November 2026.

The Care Forum are also holding a co-production workshop for health and care professionals, system stakeholders and people with lived experience of higher weight. Together, participants will explore the report findings, share perspectives, and develop and test ideas for the new resource.

If you are interested in taking part, please complete the expression of interest form below.

Your insights will help ensure that the resource is practical, relevant and useful across a range of health and care settings.