Up to 100,000 people in England will be offered places on the world’s first nationwide programme to stop them developing type 2 diabetes, it has been announced.
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) is a joint intuitive between NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK. It will start this year across 27 areas and it is expected to be rolled out across the rest of England by 2020.
The idea is to refer those people who are deemed at risk of developing type 2 diabetes to an education programme where they can learn to make better health choices.
Participants will then learn more about healthy eating, the importance of a balanced lifestyle and receive a bespoke physical exercise programme.
Over nine months patients will be offered at least 13 education and exercise sessions of one to two hours per session, at least 16 hours face to face in total.
There are currently 2.6 million people with type 2 diabetes in England with around 200,000 new diagnoses every year. Obesity is a leading cause of type 2 diabetes and is closely linked with prediabetes, which is characterised by the presence of high blood glucose levels. People with prediabetes have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Simon Stevens, NHS England’s chief executive officer, said: “Around 500 people every day find out they’ve got type 2 diabetes – a serious but often preventable health condition.
“By offering targeted support for at-risk individuals, the NHS is now playing our part in the wider campaign against obesity – which is already costing the country more than we spend on the police and fire service combined.
“The benefits for patients will show up as hospitalisations prevented, strokes avoided and amputations averted. This programme is a reminder that the ‘H’ in NHS stands for health.”
For the last year innovative approaches to the delivery of the programme have been tested at seven demonstrator sites in England. The findings have helped shape the final programme to get the best results for patients.
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England (PHE), said: “Type 2 diabetes is one the biggest health challenges of our time and millions of people in England are at risk of developing this serious disease.
“This personalised, tailored programme for people at risk will offer support on improving their lifestyle habits, including getting more exercise, a better balanced diet and losing and keeping off excess weight – helping people to take more control of their health and ultimately prevent them developing what is potentially a life threatening condition.”
If you’re interested in learning more about weight loss and maintaining stable blood glucose levels, sign up to the Low-Carb Program. This is a free, 10-week structured guide to the low-carb diet which can help improve your health and your HbA1c levels.
