Losing any excess pounds will help to control your diabetes and improve your health. It doesn’t need to be a huge amount: losing 5–10% of your weight (that’s 5–10kg if you’re 100kg or about 11–22lb if you’re 15st) reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke by lowering your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels
To find whether your weight is in the healthy range, use the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart at healthyfood.co.uk/bmi. It’s also useful to know your waist size as excess fat around your middle can mean you’re likely to have ‘visceral’ fat, the kind that pads itself around internal organs, such as the heart and liver.
