Labour's Tom Watson 'reversed' type-2 diabetes through diet and exercise

'One of the most important ingredients for political success is, quite simply, staying alive,' says MP

(PA)

Labour‘s deputy leader has revealed he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but “reversed” the condition through diet changes and exercise.

Tom Watson said he had lost more than seven stone (45kg) after cutting out junk food, refined sugar, starchy carbohydrates, and processed food since turning 50 last year.

The MP, who weighed 22 stone at his heaviest, also took up cycling, boxing, weightlifting and walking 10,000 steps a day after he was diagnosed with diabetes in summer 2017.

He said lifestyle changes had sent his condition into “remission” and allowed him to stop taking insulin to manage his blood sugar.

Mr Watson detailed the dramatic transformation during a speech at the annual conference of health industry association UKactive.

He told an audience in central London: “People often tell me I’m a political survivor, but you can’t be a political survivor unless you survive physically.

“After 32 years as an MP, and in his sixties, Jeremy Corbyn found himself and his ideas perfectly placed to take over the Labour Party. Something that might never have happened had he not been a tee-total drinker, changed his exercise habits with regular cycling and jogging.”

Mr Watson said considers himself a former “sugar addict” and that his milestone 50th birthday prompted him to re-evaluate his life.

“Since last summer, because of that, I’ve lost 99 pounds in weight,” he said.

The MP added: “I’m pleased and very, very relieved to say that thanks to a quite radical change of diet and behaviour, not just exercising more but eradicating ultra processed food, fast food, starchy carbs and refined sugar, pretty much entirely, my own type 2 diabetes is in remission.

“I’m no longer taking medication for it, and I feel absolutely fantastic.”

Almost 3.7 million Britons have been diagnosed with diabetes and that figure is projected to rise to five million by 2025.

The number of diabetic foot and toe amputations undertaken by the NHS over a three-year period has risen by more than a quarter since 2010, according to research commissioned by Labour.

Mr Watson blamed the government’s failure to address obesity, particularly among children, and food companies’ inclusion of “hidden sugar” in their products for rising obesity rates.

He said Labour would ”spearhead the fight against type 2 diabetes” and commit to reversing the sharp rise in cases within five years in government.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We know prevention is better than cure, which is why we are delivering an ambitious plan to tackle obesity in children – including getting children exercising more in schools and reducing their exposure to sugary and fatty foods.

“We’ve invested billions in public health services and NHS England’s diabetes prevention programme is available across the country for adults at risk of developing diabetes.”