Europe initiates diabetes prevention strategy

According to recent diabetes news, researchers and clinicians throughout the UK have been responsible for creating a Europe-wide strategy to prevent type 2 diabetes, as part of a pan-European team. The project has received over 1 million euros of funding from the European Union.
The project is called IMAGE (Development and Implementation of a European Guideline and Training Standards for Diabetes Prevention), and features international recommendations. The project included experts from 20 countries, including diabetes specialists, nurses, GPs, health and policy experts and many others.
Dr. Colin Greaves was reported as saying: “If politicians and healthcare providers were to use this guidance, to develop national strategies for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, this would be a quantum leap forward for health care policy across the region. Lifestyle interventions have been proven to work and the potential healthcare cost savings are immense. If high quality programmes, based on the IMAGE guideline are implemented to support lifestyle change in people at risk, the incidence of type 2 diabetes can potentially be halved. However, to deliver national strategies for diabetes prevention and reap these benefits would require substantial investments – well-trained prevention personnel working alongside GPs and nurses on a large scale. These systems could also be applied to managing cardiovascular risk. The question now is what will politicians and health services do with this information? In short, we know that diabetes prevention is possible and that the cost savings for health care and for society would be substantial – but do we have the courage to do it?”