A retired nurse from Weston Rhyn has played her part in a NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme in Shropshire and Staffordshire that has seen 782kg lost between them.

Ruth Ellis, 75 has lost almost 13kg in five months since starting the programme at the beginning of 2019, and is a great-grandmother that has developed habits that led to weight gain and less physical activity.

She admitted her delight at being able to lose weight to carry on with her exercise but also to be able to be a more active great-grandmother.

“I always exercised but I find I can do different things because I have lost weight," she said.

"I move more which is handy as I need to keep up with small great grandchildren.

"I’d recommend the programme to anyone. I haven’t been on a diet, it’s a change of lifestyle.

"I lost two stone in five months and my blood sugars have decreased putting me at a lower risk of diabetes. I have changed my eating habits and no longer have a biscuit with my tea, don’t eat cake or sweets and keep my portions controlled. I don’t buy ready-meals and I diligently read labels.”

Around four million people in the UK live with type two diabetes – with diabetes and its complications costing the NHS more than £10 billion to treat every year.

Nationally, 89,604 people have now finished the programme, losing a combined weight of 185,051kg, equivalent to 43 ambulances. In Shropshire and Staffordshire, 355 people have completed the programme with many more part way through.

The service is the first of its kind to have achieved a full national roll-out.

With expert advice on dieting, exercise and healthy lifestyle, the programme will double in size to treat around 200,000 people every year as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Complications from the disease can include blindness and foot amputations.

Around nine out of 10 people with diabetes have Type 2 and there were over a million obesity diagnoses in hospital patients last year.

Projections show that the growing number of people with diabetes could result in nearly 39,000 people living with diabetes suffering a heart attack in 2035 and over 50,000 people suffering a stroke and one in six hospital beds are occupied with someone with diabetes.

A lack of exercise, poor diet and being overweight are all risk factors for developing the disease.

Professor Vinod Patel, clinical director for diabetes at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the West Midlands said: “Around two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are now overweight or obese, driving higher and higher rates of Type Two diabetes that we are now focusing huge efforts to prevent as part of our NHS Long-Term Plan.

“Helping people avoid diabetes is potentially life-saving, so these results are encouraging, but ultimately the NHS cannot win the fight against obesity alone, which is why we are providing people with the tools to help themselves – changing lives and freeing up vital NHS resources.”