New data suggests the healthy living programme resulted in a seven per cent reduction in the number of new diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes in England between 2018 and 2019, with around 18,000 people saved the dangerous consequences of the condition.
Someone completing the nine month NHS scheme reduces their chances of getting the condition by more than a third (37 per cent), according to new University of Manchester research due to be presented at the annual Diabetes UK Professional Conference this week.
Prevention is a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan, which set out a major expansion of the Diabetes Prevention Programme.
Evidence has shown that the NHS spends around £10 billion a year on diabetes – around 10 per cent of its entire budget – and the NHS DPP is highly cost effective in the long-term.
Almost one million people have been referred to the programme since it was first launched in 2016, with participants who complete achieving an average weight loss of 3.3kg.
Since then, the NHS Long Term Plan expanded access so that up to 200,000 people a year will benefit as part of radical NHS action to tackle rising obesity rates and to prevent Type 2 diabetes.
The country’s top diabetes experts are expected to say that the programme will improve the health of hundreds of thousands of people.
Being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes can have a devastating impact on people and their families – it is a leading cause of preventable sight loss in people of working age and is a major contributor to kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and many of the common types of cancer.
NHS National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity, Professor Jonathan Valabhji, said: “The evidence is now clear – the NHS is preventing Type 2 diabetes and is helping thousands of people to lead healthier lives.
“Summer 2018 saw England become the first country to achieve universal coverage with such a programme. This latest evidence shows that the programme can have a major impact on peoples’ lives.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “It is excellent to see the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, recently expanded as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, has helped 18,000 people avoid Type 2 diabetes – a serious and dangerous condition.
“It’s vital we focus on prevention and provide advice on healthy eating and exercise, as obesity can lead to a number of serious health conditions and is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK.
“Programmes like this are helping people to live longer, healthier lives as part of our mission to level up the health of the nation and tackle disparities.”
Sukhi Basra