Obesity is a medical condition where the person is too heavy for their height and their health is affected. 

It’s a common problem in the UK - it’s estimated to affect around one in every four adults and around one in every five children aged 10 to 11 in the UK. 

Being obese can be detrimental to a person’s health, so it’s important to take steps to tackle it. 

Serious and potentially life-threatening conditions obesity has been linked with include: 

• Breast cancer 
• Bowel cancer 
• Type 2 diabetes 
• Coronary heart disease 
• Stroke 

But as part of National Obesity Awareness Week, Express.co.uk has put together some tips to kick start your weight loss journey and lead you on a path to a healthier lifestyle. 

The NHS says the best way to treat obesity is to eat a healthy, reduced-calorie diet and exercise regularly. 

Weight loss diet 

Experts from the US News and World Report panel have released the best diets to follow this year that will have the best results. 

They revealed that the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet plan is the healthiest way to lose weight this year.

The DASH diet consists of: 

• Eating more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods 
• Cut back on foods that are high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and trans fats 
• Eat more whole-grain foods, fish, poultry and nuts 
• Limit sodium, sweets, sugary drinks and red meats

Weight loss exercise 

Express.co.uk have worked alongside GymPass and Digme fitness to produce a six week plan to help you feel and look your best. 

Dan Little, head of Fitness at Dime Fitness, said: “It's a myth that doing a thousand sit-ups a day will give you a six pack. A balance of a decent diet and regular exercise is a much healthier way to achieve weight-loss, and one of the most effective methods is what's known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

"Short, hard bursts of exercise are highly effective at kick-starting your metabolism and burning body fat. You need to light that fire, and we're going to give you the matches to do it. 

"Do three rounds of this circuit of five exercises, resting for a minute in between each round. That's one workout. Try to do it three times this week. You'll quickly see results. The best bit? It's only 18 minutes in total."

For the full week one plan click here. 

A weight loss trick 

Black pepper could help in the fight against obesity, as suggested by new research. 

Piperonal, a compound in pepper, was found to “significantly” reduce the harmful effects of a high-fat diet when it was fed to rats. 

Researchers from Sri Venkateswara found rats given it as a supplement for six weeks had a lower body weight, body fat percentage and blood sugar levels as well as stronger bones compared to animals fed fatty foods only and no pepper.