Research has consistently shown that for some people, combined lifestyle interventions - including diet, physical activity and sustained weight loss - can be effective in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 50%. So we're working to help you take action.
We're supporting people across the UK to find out their risk and take action to reduce it. But this problem is too big to tackle alone, which is why we're working to make it easier for people to make healthy choices every day. We're doing this by raising awareness about risk, helping you to take action, creating a healthier environment and funding ground-breaking research.
Healthier You National Diabetes Prevention Programme
We are working together with NHS England and Public Health England to provide Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NDPP), the first national programme to help those who are at high risk of type 2 diabetes. The programme gives participants personalised support to help them achieve a healthy weight, improve their diet and become more physically active, all together which have been shown to reduce the risk of developing the condition.
The first step is to use our free Know Your Risk tool to find out if you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Depending on the results, you may then need to get a blood test.
If you think the programme might be helpful for you or someone you know, speak to your GP or Health Practitioner or find out more by visiting NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
Raising awareness: Know Your Risk
It’s really important that everyone understands their risk of type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is still widely misunderstood. Many people are not aware of the causes of type 2 diabetes or their risk of developing it. This is why it’s so important for people across the UK to find out their risk.
Our Know Your Risk tool, developed with the University of Leicester, helps people to find out their risk and what to do to lower it.
Find out your risk of getting type 2 diabetes
Learn more about the development of our Know Your Risk tool
Taking action: Reduce your risk
Once you’ve found out your risk it’s important to know what to do next.
We support people to make changes that could reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes.
We're working to make sure there is more support for people at high risk of type 2 diabetes. In England, the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme – a partnership between NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK – will support thousands to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes, leading to a delayed diagnosis or prevent it altogether. We'd like to see similar schemes across the UK.
We also help people take action on their risk through our partnerships. Our partnership with Tesco, Cancer Research UK and the British Heart Foundation was formed in 2018 to improve the health of millions of people in the UK. The partnership seeks to inspire, empower and support Tesco colleagues, customers and their families to make healthier food choices and live healthier lives. This is all to help people change their behaviours and lower the risk of cancer, heart and circulatory diseases and type 2 diabetes.
Find tips, tools and information on reducing your risk
Find out more about the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme
Find out more about the Tesco Health Charity Partnership
Creating a healthier environment
We want to create a society where the healthy choice is the easier choice.
We're working across the UK, at the local and national level, for a comprehensive plan to tackle obesity and the rise of type 2 diabetes. This includes calling for changes to the food we eat to reduce salt, sugar and saturated fat, limiting the marketing of junk food to children, and the introduction of the levy on the sugary drinks industry, commonly known as the sugar tax, in 2018.
Find out more about how our policy work will make this a reality.
We won’t be doing this alone. We work alongside the Obesity Health Alliance, of which we're a steering group member.
Research
We fund ground-breaking research into diabetes. One of the areas we fund research into is prevention. We were a founding partner of the National Prevention Research Initiative, established to reduce the impact of chronic health conditions including diabetes.
