Lifestyle changes and physical activity can help tackle type 2 diabetes, says NICE

^{Physiotherapists can help develop personalised exercise programmes}

This is one of the new recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in updated clinical guidance published on 15 September.

It states that health professionals, such as physiotherapists, should tell high-risk patients that lifestyle changes could reduce their risk of developing the condition.

High-risk patients should also be offered referral to a local, evidence-based, intensive lifestyle change programme, such as the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme developed by NHS England and Public Health England.

Raman Behl, CSP professional adviser, told Frontline: ‘Physiotherapists have a dual role in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and related complications.

‘They are skilled and effective in developing personalised exercise programmes, while also taking individual needs and associated risks into consideration.’

NICE says there are approximately 3.8 million people with diabetes in the UK, of which 90 per cent have type 2, and that about 10 per cent of the NHS’s total expenditure is spent on treating the condition.

The institute’s updated guidance follows a report, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on 13 September, which suggests that Type 2 diabetes could be go into remission if affected patients lost around 15kg.

Author: Robert Millett