The NHS England Complications of Excess Weight clinics are accessing a typically underserved population.
ENHANCE is an evaluation of the pilot NHS England Complications of Excess Weight (CEW) clinics. There are currently 38 clinics run across England, which provide a holistic approach to treating conditions related to obesity in children and young people aged up to 18.
Dr Jamie Matu, Reader in the Obesity Institute at Leeds Beckett University explained:
“When compared to the general childhood population in England, the children accessing CEW clinics are more often living in the most derived areas, and come from black and minority ethnic backgrounds”
The results show a very high median BMI standard deviation score of 3.7. Additionally, of those who were assessed, 30% had liver disease, 21% had sleep apnoea, and 24% had autism spectrum disorder. This study highlights the clinical need for weight management services at a young age.
The clinics are still being operated across the country, and this provisional data will be updated as the ENHANCE project continues. The ENHANCE project will look into:
How the different CEW services work across England
The experiences of young people and families from different backgrounds who attend CEW services
Which parts of the CEW services make the biggest improvements to children and young peoples lives
Whether the CEW services provide good value for money to the NHS
Early learning from ‘ENHANCE’ Evaluating the NHs englANd Complications of Excess weight clinics* will also be presented at the European Congress on Obesity 2025, along with the learnings ENHANCE has experienced working closely with children and young people in the ARROWS*.
This work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (Award ID: NIHR158453).
*each hyperlink when clicked will download the pdf copy of the poster presented at the European Congress on Obesity 2025