UK Government and Lilly Back £85 Million Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme to Transform Care Across 12 Regions
Key Insights
The UK government and Eli Lilly are jointly funding 12 pioneering obesity (search) care projects with up to £85 million in grants through the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme.
Projects will deploy AI-assisted triage, WhatsApp-based advice, neighbourhood hubs, and self-referral pathways to reach underserved communities including deprived, minority ethnic, and rural populations.
Almost one in three adults in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland live with obesity (search), costing UK society up to £107 billion annually and the NHS over £9 billion per year.
The UK government and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company have committed up to £85 million in grant funding to launch 12 innovative obesity (search) care projects across the UK, marking a significant shift toward technology-enabled, community-based weight management services. The Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme (OPIP), delivered by Innovate UK (search), will see up to £50 million from government and up to £35 million from Lilly fund projects that aim to reach thousands of patients who have historically faced barriers to accessing care.
Science Secretary Liz Kendall underscored the urgency: "Almost 1 in 3 adults in this country are living with obesity (search) — that's millions of people who deserve real support." Secretary of State for Health and Social Care James Murray described obesity as "an epidemic" requiring "bold action to end it now."
The programme directly supports the government's Ten-Year Plan for the NHS, which prioritises shifting healthcare from treatment to prevention and moving from analogue to digital systems. Projects will run until March 2029, with eligible patients able to access support imminently.
A digital-first approach to obesity (search) care
Across the 12 funded regions, projects will deploy a range of technologies to simplify access to weight management services. In Norfolk, Suffolk, and north east Essex, up to 85,270 patients will be served through AI-assisted triage — a short online health check completed from home that matches individuals to appropriate NHS support, from dietary advice to specialist clinical care.
In Kent and Medway, up to 3,300 families will receive round-the-clock AI-powered advice via WhatsApp, available in more than 20 languages and by voice note. The service targets women from pregnancy through a child's early years, providing instant responses without requiring a GP or clinic appointment. "For a parent trying to give their child the best start, or someone who has struggled to access help for years, that can make all the difference," Kendall said.
Coventry and Warwickshire will offer a smartphone app providing trusted health information, practical tools, and lifestyle advice, while Lanarkshire's digital platform — co-designed with patients and clinicians — will deliver dietary advice, physical activity information, and behaviour change guidance directly via phone or computer. The platform is designed to support broader public health needs including Type 2 diabetes (search) prevention and remission and cardiovascular disease (search) risk reduction.
Neighbourhood hubs and community-based care
Several projects emphasise bringing services closer to where people live. Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will establish six new neighbourhood hubs in community pharmacies and gyms, with extra focus on deprived, Black, South Asian, and rural communities. Patients can be referred online, through GPs, schools, or councils, and will have access to adolescent-specific apps, behavioural support programmes, family-based interventions, and, where clinically appropriate, weight loss medication.
In South London, patients will access obesity (search) care through high street pharmacies, alongside exercise groups and dietary advice. Lincolnshire will receive specialist weight management support for the first time, eliminating the need for residents to travel outside the county for care.
Dorset's project will take a community-led approach, focusing on people who often face barriers to healthy weight services, including children and young people with disabilities. Amanda Webb, chief officer for population health improvement for NHS Dorset, said that by designing new local services and using digital tools, they "hope to reach people who too often miss out."
Integrated national pathways
Wales will deliver its first fully integrated national obesity (search) care pathway with a bilingual digital entry point linked to NHS systems, available in English or Welsh. Northern Ireland's neighbourhood-based service will allow self-referral, enabling patients to work with NHS clinicians to set personal goals without waiting for a GP appointment.
In Scotland, the LIMITLESS STRIDE programme in NHS Lothian will provide access to weight management support for up to 10,000 people via a digitally-powered care pathway, delivered in partnership with the Defence Medical Command. The STRIDE component will tailor the platform to support the Armed Forces community UK-wide, accommodating geographic moves and deployment through virtual support and in-person exercise interventions.
Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country's BRIDGE project will create a single route into weight management support, with a website operating in over 18 languages and self-referral capability. The service is built around groups who have historically found it hardest to get help, including those living with serious mental health conditions and young people with severe obesity (search).
The scale of the challenge
Obesity (search) remains one of the UK's most pressing health challenges. Almost one third of adults in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and one in four in Wales, live with the condition. Estimates suggest obesity costs UK society up to £107 billion per year, including a bill of more than £9 billion annually for the NHS. Limited access to effective weight loss interventions — including specialist advice, guided physical activity, and medicines — has been identified as a key barrier for patients needing support.
Professor Naveed Sattar, Chair of the Obesity (search) Healthcare Goals, said: "It is very encouraging to see investment in these projects, given the urgent need for the NHS to develop better ways of supporting the many people affected by obesity and its complications." He added that "each project brings distinct strengths and will explore innovative approaches to care, with the most successful strategies likely to shape future obesity services across the UK."
Chris Stokes, President and General Manager, Lilly UK and Northern Europe, stated: "We are proud to work with the government to support NHS partners in projects which have the potential to modernise obesity (search) services and make a genuine difference in the lives of people living with obesity."
Building on wider government action
The OPIP announcement builds on a broader package of measures to address obesity (search), including restrictions on junk food advertising before 9pm on TV and online — expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories annually from children's diets — and new powers for local authorities to stop fast food shops opening near schools. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be expanded from January 2028 to cover pre-packed milk-based and milk-substitute drinks, building on a policy that has already reduced the average sugar content of soft drinks in scope by 47% between 2015 and 2024.
The Health Innovation Network will lead Communities of Practice to ensure learnings from the frontline are shared across the system. Prof Ben Bridgewater, Executive Chair of the Health Innovation Network, described the initiative as "an example of partners, industry, national and devolved governments and the NHS aligning priorities to deliver innovation locally, closer to patients, that will have a national impact."