HEALTH chiefs have warned that thousands of people are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every year.

New figures published in The Bolton News last week revealed that almost 20,000 people in the borough are at risk of developing the disease.

But a former Bolton News journalist, Dave Beevers, proved it is possible for diabetes sufferers to transform their health and fitness.

Doctors are calling for more preventative measures to reduce the number of people developing type 2 which is linked to lifestyle.

Mr Beevers said it was a wake-up call when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes three years ago.

At the time, he weighed 24 stone and had started to struggle with his mobility.

After a series of blood tests, his GP confirmed he had type 2 diabetes.

The 58-year-old said: “It was a shock at the time and it was all down to lifestyle. My eating habits weren’t good. I was eating far too much of the wrong thing.

“I used to have loads of fatty foods like chips and fried breakfasts. From that diagnosis, I completely changed my diet.”

Mr Beevers, of Woodburn Drive in Smithills, was dealt another blow when his lost his wife, Diane, to breast cancer last year.

However, he was determined to continue with his new healthy lifestyle and lost more than eight stones.

Mr Beevers is now in training for the Rotterdam Marathon and his first triathlon next year.

He said: “I didn’t start exercising and training until after I lost Diane. Before then, she was very ill and I was caring for her.

“Diane was the real inspiration for me to start training for marathons. It also helped with my diabetes, too.

“If you really want to lose weight and improve your health, you have to combine the good diet with lots of exercise.

“I worked with a nutritionist and it was a real education.

“I was immediately conscious about which foods were good and bad, such as white carbohydrates. I have had to completely change my eating habits and eat a lot less.”