When Raga D'Silva started the fitness group, it didn’t just provide the social network of new friends, it might just have saved her life.

Raga was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes three years ago, and given three years to live if she didn’t change her lifestyle. The disease has affected several members of her family, so she believed she had to act.

"I've had a few family members, I’ve had a few people very close to me who are dying or losing part of their bodies when they are young. And I’ve been in deep depression, but I decided that I wasn’t going to be that person, you know, so I took X, I read to much thinking(?), I thought to be living better.

Raga’s commitment to a healthy lifestyle has meant she’s in remission from her diabetes. But one leading charity says the disease is getting dangerous to be out of control.

Diabetes UK says the latest figures show the number of people with type-2 diabetes has risen by almost 60% in just ten years. It says there were over 3.3 million people in the UK with type-2 diabetes, and estimates there are another 590,000 undiagnosed cases. They fear that without intervention, up to 5 million people will have the disease by 2025.

“So for the almost 4 million people in this country already have diabetes, we need much more effective patterns of care and support for them.”

But other than exercise, Raga’s Use It To Lose It group also swaps healthy eating tips. Several of the women are very much aware of the dangers of diabetes. “My daughter was diagnosed with diabetes and X. So I had to be really careful with her. And I realized that it was really important for me to set an example of losing weight.”

“Some people I know are getting older, some people I know have got sicker, got bigger, got sicker, you know, it’s a lot of complex when I can’t do this, I can’t do that anymore. I don’t want to be there.”

“Diabetes UK said the vast majority of type-2 diabetes cases are entirely avoidable. And if more people took the same lifestyle choices as these ladies, they would not only have a much longer and healthy life, they could save the NHS millions of pounds a year.”

The warning from Diabetes UK is that unless more people change their lifestyles and the government do more to prevent and treat diabetes, the disease could eventually destroy the NHS. Freed Mores, Sky News.