01 BRITISH SOCIETY OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE CONFERENCE | SEPTEMBER 2026
Reimagining Type 2 Diabetes Care
Culturally Adapted Lifestyle Medicine for Underserved Populations
A conference presentation at the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Conference 2026.
This presentation shares the early findings from a culturally adapted Lifestyle Medicine programme supporting people living with Type 2 Diabetes and pre-diabetes in North Lewisham. The programme explored how personalised, community-based Lifestyle Medicine approaches can improve glycaemic control, wellbeing and self-management for populations experiencing significant health inequalities.
02 AT A GLANCE
Who and where
North Lewisham Primary Care Network serves over 92,000 residents, with around 67% of the population living within the CORE20PLUS group. The programme supported people living with Type 2 Diabetes and pre-diabetes through a co-designed Lifestyle Medicine service.
What we delivered
Patients received personalised support across all six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine through one-to-one and group sessions, delivered alongside usual medical care by a Lead Health & Wellbeing Nutritional Coach.
Key Finding
The evaluation demonstrated significant improvements in HbA1c for both people living with diabetes and those with pre-diabetes, alongside improvements in confidence and connection to wider support.
03 CONTEXT & APPROACH
Lifestyle Medicine has strong evidence behind it, but translating that evidence into accessible services for communities experiencing health inequalities remains a challenge.
This programme was designed to explore how culturally tailored, person-centred support could improve metabolic health whilst recognising the wider circumstances affecting people's ability to make lifestyle changes. Rather than focusing solely on clinical measures, the service sought to improve wellbeing, confidence and self-management alongside glycaemic control.
Why this work matters
The programme was co-designed to support adults living with Type 2 Diabetes and pre-diabetes.
Participants received personalised support covering all six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine through a combination of individual appointments and group sessions, delivered alongside routine medical care.
The approach emphasised:
Understanding the whole person
Culturally tailored support
Visual communication
Flexible follow-up
Progress over perfection
These principles helped ensure the service was accessible to people facing a range of health and social challenges.
What we did
04 FINDINGS
The programme supported 74 participants, including 53 people living with Type 2 Diabetes and 21 living with pre-diabetes.
Headline findings included:
Significant improvement in HbA1c for people living with Type 2 Diabetes, from a median of 73.0 mmol/mol to 56.5 mmol/mol after three months, with 30% achieving an HbA1c below 48 mmol/mol.
Significant improvement in HbA1c for people living with pre-diabetes, from a median of 44.0 mmol/mol to 41.0 mmol/mol, with 71% achieving an HbA1c below 42 mmol/mol at follow-up.
Improvements were also observed in confidence, shared household behaviour change and connection to wider support through the programme.
What we observed
One participant, a 72-year-old man seeking asylum, joined the programme with an HbA1c of 95 mmol/mol. He faced multiple barriers, including language, hearing difficulties and unstable housing.
Following engagement with the service, his HbA1c reduced to 59 mmol/mol. His wife, who attended alongside him, also saw improvements in her own HbA1c. The programme also supported greater confidence, shared lifestyle changes within the household and connection to wider services.
A patient story
05 IMPLICATIONS
These findings demonstrate the potential for culturally adapted, person-centred Lifestyle Medicine services to improve glycaemic control for people experiencing significant health inequalities.
Alongside improvements in clinical outcomes, the programme highlights the importance of tailoring support to people's individual circumstances, making Lifestyle Medicine more accessible and sustainable in real-world practice.
What this means for practice
06 SOURCE AND CREDITS
Presented at the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Conference 2026
Authors
Nana Ocran, Barnaby Hirons and Camille Hirons
Explore the presentation
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Methods
Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and pre-diabetes from North Lewisham Primary Care Network were invited to participate alongside their usual medical care.
The programme was delivered by a Lead Health & Wellbeing Nutritional Coach using culturally tailored, personalised interventions across all six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine through a combination of one-to-one and group sessions. HbA1c measurements were repeated at three and six months.
Full Results
Participants
74 participants
53 living with Type 2 Diabetes
21 living with pre-diabetes
59% male
83% identified as non-white
Type 2 Diabetes cohort
Median HbA1c improved from 73.0 mmol/mol (IQR 58.5–96.0) at baseline to 56.5 mmol/mol (IQR 45.5–68.0) at three months (p<0.0001). At follow-up, 30% achieved an HbA1c below 48 mmol/mol.
Pre-diabetes cohort
Median HbA1c improved from 44.0 mmol/mol (IQR 43.0–46.0) at baseline to 41.0 mmol/mol (IQR 40.0–42.0) at three months (p<0.001). At follow-up, 71% achieved an HbA1c below 42 mmol/mol.
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Presentation
British Society of Lifestyle Medicine Conference 2026
Presentation title
Reimagining Type 2 Diabetes Care: Culturally Adapted Lifestyle Medicine for Underserved Populations
Authors
Nana Ocran
Barnaby Hirons
Camille Hirons
Organisations
Lifestyle Medicine Accelerator and North Lewisham Primary Care Network (as presented on the conference poster).
Copyright
© 2026 Lifestyle Medicine Accelerator. This conference presentation and associated materials are provided for information only and may not be reproduced or redistributed without permission.
07 NEXT STEP
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