Type 2 diabetes is one of the biggest health threats facing our society, so the work that has been done in Bradford to tackle this hidden killer is a huge credit to those behind it.

The Bradford Beating Diabetes campaign, started just over 12 months ago, targeted those vulnerable to the condition in the inner city, and has so far offered lifestyle interventions to more than 10,000 people.

It is not surprising that this proactive bid to combat the ever-increasing levels of type 2 – which now affects 2.7million people, around six per cent of the population, with a further 9.6million said to be at risk – is being praised by a national charity.

Diabetes UK says projects like Bradford Beating Diabetes need to be taken up in other areas as the costs of treating those who develop Type 2 continue to spiral.

The charity says local initiatives like this, which seek to tackle the underlying health and lifestyle causes that lead to the condition among those deemed to be most vulnerable, are key to tackling what it describes as ‘our biggest health challenge’.

It is vital that the work done by BBD is rolled out across the Bradford district, and further afield, targeting patients most at risk of diabetes and attempting to get them to change their lifestyles before it is too late.

Of course, it is ultimately a personal choice as to whether the patient acts or not, but providing as many people as possible with as much information as possible about risks and consequences to inform these lifestyle choices is vitally important.

Many of these cases can be prevented, and everything possible must be done to follow the successful example laid down in the city by BDD if the nation as a whole is to reduce the huge impact this disease is having.