'The Health of the 51%: Women' report

Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, published the 2014 annual report focused on women's health. In it, she covered a range of issues, including violence against women, women's health in their reproductive years and women's health in later life.

The report noted that obesity was a major theme across the different areas, and that it affected the outcomes of a woman's pregnancy, as well as the health of any future children. Dame Sally suggested that 'action [was] required for women and across society to prevent obesity and its associated morbidity and mortality from overwhelming our health and social care resources and reducing England's productivity'.

The report's recommendations covered a range of areas, including:

• making obesity part of national risk planning
• raising awareness of female genital mutilation and domestic violence
• increasing contraception availability
• improving mental and physical health among mothers and children.