Ambitious plans were unveiled in March to try and combat the growing issue of type 2 diabetes across the UK – a condition that currently affects 2.6 million people in England, with around 200,000 new diagnoses every year.

The new Diabetes Prevention Programme – a collaboration between NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK – will identify those with high blood sugar levels, deemed at high risk of developing diabetes, and refer them into a nine-month programme of health and fitness coaching funded by the NHS.

Known as Healthier You, the programme will incorporate personal training, exercise classes and nutritional advice. Over nine months, patients will be offered at least 13 education and exercise sessions – a total of at least 16 hours face-to-face.It will be offered to a total of to 100,000 people over the next four years, and from 2020 at a rate of 100,000 people each year (see HCM May 16, p5).

And why? Because Britain is now officially the second fattest nation in Europe, with 25 per cent of adults classed as obese. On current trends, one in three people will be obese by 2034, while one in 10 will develop type 2 diabetes.

The NHS can’t afford this: diabetes already accounts for a reported 10 per cent of its budget; Diabetes UK estimates that it costs £25,000 a minute to treat diabetes and its complications.

While type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented and isn’t linked to lifestyle, type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to lifestyle and being overweight. On the upside, with the right diet and exercise, it’s a reversible disease, even for those who have suffered the condition for up to a decade.

And that’s where Healthier You aims to step in: a pilot scheme that offered two exercise classes a week – including HIIT and interval training – as well as classroom sessions on diet and lifestyle found all participants lost weight, with more than half also reducing their diabetes risk.

Now would seem to be the perfect moment for the fitness sector to prove itself; while there are already examples of best practice at health clubs around the country, the health and fitness industry has been waiting for the medical community to get fully behind its services.

But how can it make the most of this golden opportunity – not just to get a slice of the action, but to make sure the results are achieved and the burden on the NHS is reduced? And can the industry use this initiative to spearhead more preventative healthcare measures? We ask the experts…