How I beat disease by MP Tom Watson (now 98lb lighter)

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OVERWEIGHT, unfit and addicted to sugary snacks, Labour MP Tom Watson knew his excessive bulk was due to his unhealthy lifestyle.

But for decades the 51-year-old Labour Party deputy leader paid little attention to his diet – until his doctor diagnosed him with Type 2 diabetes in 2015.

Like millions across the UK he was obese and it was almost entirely down to the sugar-laden foods he was gorging on.

Petrified of dying in his fifties, he finally vowed to change and a year after a diet overhaul coupled with regular exercise, he has put his condition into remission and no longer has to take medication.

Through a series of subtle lifestyle changes he has managed to lose 98lb in a year.

Mr Watson’s seven-stone road to recovery started by cutting out sugar, refined sugar, processed foods and starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta and potatoes.

Then he started to exercise for the first time in 30 years, initially walking, then cycling, running, boxing and weight-training.

Now he says if he can do it, so can others at risk of Type 2 diabetes. He said: “Through the journey I have come to the realisation that we have a whole nation battling similar weight and health problems. And it is only going to get worse. “Approximately 14 million UK adults are obese. About 15 million more are overweight. One third of our children are leaving primary school obese. “The figures for obesity’s twin evil, diabetes, are shocking too. In 1998 just three per cent of adults in England had diabetes diagnosed. “By 2016 that had more than doubled to seven per cent. “Each year in the UK 26,000 people with diabetes die prematurely. “One of the key culprits for this enormous rise is sugar and the sugar industry.” Mr Watson says his sleep has improved and his blood glucose levels are now back to normal again. He said: “I consider myself a reformed sugar addict because I know that if I take sugar in again, the condition will come back. But I’m liberated. I don’t get tired, I don’t get the thing called ‘brain fog’ when your mental acuity is deadened a bit. “All of that is gone.” Overweight politician Tom Watson at the Glastonbury music festival in June 2017