NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme hits 200,000 referrals milestone

More than 200,000 people have been referred onto a national type 2 diabetes prevention programme since its launch in 2016.
That figure was helped along by a record number of referrals made throughout May with 16,180 people being told they should attend the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
The initiative was developed to help reduce the number of type 2 diabetes diagnoses in the UK. Currently around 700 people a day are diagnosed with diabetes, which is roughly one person every two minutes.
Those referred to the service by their GP receive tailored, personalised support which includes dietary and fitness education. The program aims to help people lose weight and reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Some of the main risk factors include medical family history, age, obesity, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes or being from an ethic minority.
According to NHS England’s July Diabetes Programme Bulletin 95,823 people have attended an initial assessment of the programme and of that number, 47,884 patients then participated in an intervention session.
NHS England has said it is seeing about 47% of people progressing from initial assessment to their first intervention session.
In 2015, Diabetes.co.uk launched its own online education program which has achieved remarkable success: the Low Carb Program.
On average, people who complete the Low Carb Program reduce their HbA1c levels by 13 mmol/mol (1.2%), lose 7% of their body weight and over 40% of people on medication at the start have been able to come off at least one of their medications.
The Low Carb Program recently received QISMET approval to be recommended on the NHS, and received CE Mark approval in June.