PEOPLE in Oxford are being urged to ditch the extra fries for exercise to help reduce their risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes. 

In a national week-long campaign, which runs today until the 7th, NHS staff at the OUH (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) have teamed up with Diabetes Teams to help prevent the condition. 

The disease can lead to other serious conditions like early death, strokes, heart disease - known as the silent killer - or even limb amputations. 

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Around 200,000 people are labelled with Type 2 diabetes every year, but it is thought that more than half of those could have been prevented or delayed.

Kate Boys, the health promotion practitioner specialist at the trust said: "Making small changes to your lifestyle can now add up over time to make a really big impact on your future health." 

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She urged people to start by making little changes like losing weight, swapping foods that are high in refined sugar for more slow-release carbs, and moving more. 

Explaining that Type 2 is one of the biggest healthcare 'challenges of our time'. 

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On Thursday April 4, staff at the John Radcliffe will be dishing out free advice as well as doing diabetes risk scores - which flag the chances of developing the disease over the next decade. 

The day is designed to stop or delay the onset of Type 2, and will be held from 10am until 1pm opposite the League of Friends Cafe on Level 2.