It has been announced by NHS England that Stockport has been accepted into wave 2 of the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
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- Stockport Council
The Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) will identify those people at high risk of developing diabetes and then offer them a range of programmes such as supporting healthy eating, lifestyle, help to lose weight and bespoke physical exercise programmes, all of which together have been proven to reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
Reacting to the announcement Councillor Tom McGee, Stockport Council’s Executive Member for Health said;
“This is really good news and a very welcome boost to our efforts to curb the diabetes epidemic in Stockport. It is estimated that 27,000 people in Stockport are at risk of developing diabetes and there are already 14,600 people who are diagnosed with the condition. It is vitally important that we can offer help to that very large group of people to reduce their risk and live as normal a life as possible.”
Dr Vicci Owen Smith, Clinical Director of Public Health at NHS Stockport CCG said;
“Type 2 diabetes usually occurs because people are overweight and can have devastating consequences such as blindness, amputations and kidney disease if not diagnosed and managed well. There are too many people in Stockport on the cusp of developing type 2 diabetes, which is largely preventable, so any help we can get in tackling it is very welcome.”
To lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes we need to be physically active and eat healthily to maintain a healthy weight, but it’s hard to do it alone. GP practice teams offer people support to make changes to protect their health, but these bespoke courses will give people that extra bit of help. If you’ve not already done so, go to your surgery for your free NHS Health Check and a simple blood test will help identify if you are at risk of developing diabetes. You’ll get all the help you need to change for the better.”
TIPS TO CHECK YOUR RISK AND REDUCE YOUR CHANCE OF DEVELOPING DIABETES
1) You can check your risk score at http://riskscore.diabetes.org.
2) If called for an NHS Health Check by your GP Practice, do attend. The check will identify if you are at risk of diabetes.
3) Carry out the Stockport String Test https://www.healthystockport.
Stockport String is a fun way to measure your waist to height ratio using only a piece of string. If the string when halved doesn’t fit around your middle, it is an indication that you are at higher risk of developing certain illnesses, such as high blood pressure, cancers and diabetes.
For Healthy Lifestyle advice go to www.healthystockport or www.nhs.uk/oneyou
