Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Week: Take Action to Protect Your Health

This Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Week, we are encouraging our residents to take simple but powerful steps to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes — a condition that affects millions across the UK and can lead to serious health complications if left unmanaged. 

The good news is that Type 2 diabetes can often be prevented or delayed, and even reversed, by making healthy lifestyle choices. Eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active are key to lowering your risk. 

Type 2 diabetes doesn’t just affect your blood sugar levels. It can also lead to a range of chronic health issues, including heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, foot problems, vision loss, and kidney disease. That’s why taking action early is so important. 

The condition can affect some groups more than others. You may be at higher risk if: 

• you’re male; 

• you’re of South Asian or Black ethnicity; 

• you’re overweight; 

• you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, or; 

• you’ve previously had gestational diabetes (GDM) 

You can find out where you stand quickly and easily using the Diabetes UK Know Your Risk Score at riskscore.diabetes.org.uk, or by searching ‘Know Your Risk’. 

If you are at risk, support is available. Over 1.8 million people have now been referred to the Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. 

The programme is free and offers guidance on how to make lasting changes to your lifestyle. Participants can choose between local face-to-face group sessions or a flexible digital service to suit their schedule. 

To learn more about the Healthier You programme and to read personal success stories from local residents, visit the Frimley Health and Care website. Taking the first step could be life-changing.