Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they maintain records of how many people employed by NHS England are assessed as obese; what percentage of the total staff complement of NHS England this constitutes; and what steps, if any, they plan to take to encourage NHS England staff to lose weight.

The Department does not hold information on the weight of National Health Service staff.

Through our new obesity strategy, Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives published on 27 July, we are doing more than ever to support people living with obesity, including those employed in the NHS, to lose weight including through the free NHS 12-week weight loss plan app for those who want more support. We will also expand weight management services to help more people get the support they need and through incentives with general practitioners will make conversations about weight in primary care the norm.

These measures add to the wide range of actions already in place including the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and wider calorie reformulation programme which will improve our eating habits and reduce the amount of sugar and calories we consume.

A copy of Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives is attached.