According to a scientist, the NHS’s ‘healthy weight’ calculator has been providing incorrect advice to overweight individuals, suggesting they consume hundreds of excess calories per day. This misguided information resulted in people who engaged in light exercise once a week being instructed to consume the same amount of calories as those who exercised almost daily. If followed, this advice could lead to a weight gain of nearly two and a half stone in one year. Dr Stuart Flint, an obesity expert, initially raised concerns about these “nonsensical” calculations over two years ago, but no action was taken until his concerns were published in The Lancet journal. The calculator was recently put back online without the calorie advice feature.
The errors in the calculator meant that overweight individuals seeking weight loss could potentially be advised to consume nearly 300 excess calories per day, while women in the same category were advised to consume up to 240 extra calories daily. This advice would result in consuming over 2,086 additional calories per week, equivalent to more than four Big Mac burgers. It is believed that the calculator, which is consulted approximately 22 million times annually, has been providing misleading advice since 2018. Dr Flint, an associate professor at the University of Leeds, expressed concern that individuals were being told to consume inaccurate amounts of calories, potentially leading to excessive calorie intake.
The NHS’s ‘BMI healthy weight calculator’ was created to address the obesity epidemic in Britain, where two out of three adults are overweight or obese. The calculator determines the number of calories individuals should consume per day to gradually lose weight based on their activity levels. Users provide basic information such as weight, height, sex, ethnicity, and activity levels. Those classified as overweight or obese are then provided with daily calorie recommendations for weight loss. The calculator overestimated the impact of minimal increases in exercise, potentially encouraging dieters to consume more calories than necessary.
The calculator categorized activity levels as inactive, moderately active, and active. However, it incorrectly defined ‘moderately active’ as 30-60 minutes of exercise per week and ‘active’ as 60-150 minutes per week. According to NHS guidelines, only individuals engaging in at least 150 minutes of exercise per week should be considered ‘active’. Those who selected the wrongly-defined ‘moderately active’ or ‘active’ options were assigned additional calories per day, despite only slightly increasing their weekly exercise. For instance, a man of 5′ 9”, weighing 14 st 6 lbs, would be advised to consume a minimum of 1,817 calories per day with no exercise. However, if he engaged in 30 minutes of exercise per week, he would be advised to consume an extra 819 calories per week (117 calories per day), and if he exercised for 60 minutes or more per week, the advice would be an extra 2,086 calories per week (298 calories per day). In reality, 30 minutes of brisk walking for a man of this weight would only burn 174 calories, while 60 minutes would burn 348 calories total. Following the advice given by the calculator could result in an average weight gain of 2 st 5 lbs per year.
Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, expressed astonishment that the NHS had allowed the calculator to provide inaccurate information for several years. He emphasized the negative consequences of this negligence, stating that countless individuals may be heavier due to following the calculator’s advice. Dr Stuart Flint highlighted how the inaccurate definition of an ‘active’ individual misled millions. The incorrect advice led individuals to believe they could consume an additional 100 to 200 calories per day, even though they were still inactive.
One individual who contacted Dr Flint reported following the NHS BMI calculator guidelines for calorific intake but experiencing continuous weight gain. After doing their own calorie calculations, they were able to reduce their BMI from 37.0 to 27.4. Professor Barbara McGowan, co-chair of the Obesity Management Task Force at the European Association for the Study of Obesity, explained that consuming an additional 200 calories per day could result in a weight gain of up to 1 kg per month or 1 st 12 lbs per year. She stressed the importance of promptly correcting any identified problems.
The calculator, which was temporarily taken down in March, was reintroduced this month without the controversial sections on physical activity and daily calorie recommendations. An NHS representative stated that all the recommendations provided were evidence-based. In accordance with NICE guidance, the BMI calculator now considers factors such as lifestyle when offering weight management advice, rather than providing specific calorie advice.
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