{"id":799,"date":"2025-01-27T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T10:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/?page_id=799"},"modified":"2025-01-27T10:04:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T10:04:12","slug":"weight-management","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/prehab\/weight-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Weight Management"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Aim for a healthy weight &#8211; A normal Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 20-25 kg\/m\u00b2<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Am I at increased risk because of my weight?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although many people with a higher weight are fit and healthy, there are increased risks associated with carrying extra weight. It\u2019s more likely if you have central obesity and are \u201capple shaped\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You have an increased risk of suffering a serious complication during or after your operation if you have:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>high blood pressure<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>diabetes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>obstructive sleep apnoea<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>history of thrombosis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>angina<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>After an operation, patients with obesity may be more likely to have:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>chest infections<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>difficulty breathing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>wound infections<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>poor wound healing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>This is because the excess weight puts an extra strain on your organs making it harder to function properly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Increased Anaesthesia Risks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Obesity affects how your body reacts to medications, which increases the risk of complications such as breathing problems and heart disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Technical Challenges During Surgery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Obesity makes it more difficult for the surgeon to position the patient, visualise the organs, and perform procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What can I do next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are keen to lose weight, you can speak to your healthcare professional about what support might be available for you locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are also free, online resources available via the links below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Healthy eating and looking after your weight at<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhsinform.scot\/waiting-well\/support-your-health-and-wellbeing-while-you-wait\/healthy-eating-and-looking-after-your-weight\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.nhsinform.scot\/waiting-well\/support-your-health-and-wellbeing-while-you-wait\/healthy-eating-and-looking-after-your-weight<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eat well, your way at Food Standards Scotland<br><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodstandards.gov.scot\/consumers\/healthy-eating\/eat-well-your-way\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.foodstandards.gov.scot\/consumers\/healthy-eating\/eat-well-your-way<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lose weight &#8211; Better Health at  NHS<br><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/better-health\/lose-weight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.nhs.uk\/better-health\/lose-weight\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should aim to eat three regular meals with a good balance of the food groups \u2013 protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats. Try to avoid adding any extra sugar or salt to your diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eat Well Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Use the Eatwell Guide to help you get a balance of healthier and more sustainable food. It shows how much of what you eat overall should come from each food group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/EatWell_800x570px.png\" alt=\"Eat Well graphic showing various food types.\" class=\"wp-image-924 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/EatWell_800x570px.png 800w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/EatWell_800x570px-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/EatWell_800x570px-768x547.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Eat Well Guide<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fruit and vegetables:<\/strong><br>Eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates:<\/strong><br>Choose whole grain of higher fibre versions, with less added fat, salt and sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins:<br><\/strong>Eat more beans and pulses, two portions of sustainably sources fish per week, one of which is oily.<br>Eat less red and processed meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dairy and alternatives:<\/strong><br>Choose lower fat and lower sugar options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Oil &amp; spreads:<br><\/strong>Choose unsaturated oils and use in small amounts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:25% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/FoodLabel.png\" alt=\"Food Label\" class=\"wp-image-928 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Check the label on packaged foods. Choose foods lower in fat, salt and sugars.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:25% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/Crisps.png\" alt=\"Crisps, sauce, chocolate, ice cream etc\" class=\"wp-image-926 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>High in fat and high in sugar snacks:<br>Eat less often and in small amounts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:25% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/Water.png\" alt=\"Water: 6-8 glasses a day\" class=\"wp-image-927 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Drink 6-8 glasses a day:<br>Water, lower fat milk, sugar-free drinks including tea and coffee all count.<br>Limit fruit juice and\/or smoothies to a total of 150ml a day.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:25% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"255\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/Kcal.png\" alt=\"All food and all drinks calorie intake: Female is 2000 calories per day. Male is 2500 calories per day.\" class=\"wp-image-925 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Calorie intake:<br>Per day 2000kcal 2500kcal = ALL FOOD + ALL DRINKS<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Top Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Eat regular meals, some people prefer smaller more frequent meals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plan your meals to include all the essential foods, cooking fresh meals where possible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eat appropriate portion sizes \u2013 using smaller plates might help with this.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid sugary drinks and snacks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose nutritious foods that are satisfying to you.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Consider reducing alcohol as this contains a lot of calories<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aim for a healthy weight &ndash; A normal Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 20-25 kg\/m&sup2; Am I at increased risk because of my weight? Although many people with a higher weight are fit and healthy, there are increased risks associated with carrying extra weight. It&rsquo;s more likely if you have central obesity and are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":994,"parent":713,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/featwide.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-799","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader.png",1920,300,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader.png",1920,300,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader.png",1920,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader-300x47.png",300,47,true],"large":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader-1024x160.png",1024,160,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader-1536x240.png",1536,240,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader.png",1920,300,false],"post_slider_thumbnail":["https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2025\/01\/PrehabHeader-1520x238.png",1520,238,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"NHS Lothian","author_link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/author\/nhs-lothian\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":false,"rttpg_excerpt":"Aim for a healthy weight &ndash; A normal Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 20-25 kg\/m&sup2; Am I at increased risk because of my weight? Although many people with a higher weight are fit and healthy, there are increased risks associated with carrying extra weight. It&rsquo;s more likely if you have central obesity and are","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":963,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/799\/revisions\/963"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/preparingforsurgery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}