Smart scales to be piloted in NHS clinics to support children living with obesity
A new digital tool aimed at children living with severe obesity is set to be piloted across 15 specialist NHS clinics in England.
The 'smart scales', which connect to a mobile app, have a unique feature that hides the numerical weight reading from users. Instead, the app provides feedback on the overall direction of weight management — helping to reduce anxiety around specific figures while still encouraging progress.
Data from the scales is automatically shared with clinical teams at the NHS’s Complications from Excess Weight (CEW) clinics. Clinicians can then provide regular support and personalised advice through the app, allowing children and their families to monitor progress and build healthy habits at home.
Professor Simon Kenny, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Children and Young People, said: “It is fantastic that through cutting-edge technology and a holistic and behaviour-change approach to obesity care, our specialist NHS clinics have already transformed the lives of thousands of children and young people – supporting them to lose weight, live healthier lives and improve their mental health.
“This game-changing tool is helping our specialists support and keep track of children’s weight loss progress without them needing to leave home, while offering regular advice to them and their parents to help build healthy habits.”
Professor Kenny also highlighted that living with obesity can lead to serious long-term health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, early joint replacements and mental health challenges.
The initiative follows new analysis presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, which revealed that over 40 per cent of patients attending the 32 CEW clinics are from the most deprived areas. The study, conducted by Leeds Beckett University, Sheffield Hallam University, the University of Leeds, and the University of Bristol, also found that 24 per cent of young patients had autism and 23 per cent had a learning disability.
Children attending the clinics frequently faced significant health complications, with 30 per cent diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and 21 per cent with hypertension.
Dr Catherine Homer, Associate Professor of Obesity and Public Health at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “We know there is an urgent need to provide specialised, person-centred support for the many children and young people currently living with severe and complex forms of obesity. Through our evaluation, we are already seeing how crucial CEW clinics are to providing this support, and therefore it’s imperative that the clinics should be integral to the forthcoming 10-year plan.”