Health authorities need to work with food manufacturers and retailers to slash calories and reduce salt in prepared foods to tackle type 2 diabetes, Nice has advised.

In its latest guidance, Nice recommends national action to improve the content and labelling of prepared foods to promote a healthy diet.

Partnership between the NHS and local authorities is also crucial to prevent diabetes in high-risk populations, says the guidance, which was launched at the Nice Annual Conference 2011 on Tuesday.

Local environments should be created to encourage those from high-risk ethnicities, such as black or south Asian people, and those from low socioeconomic groups, to be more physically active and adopt a healthy diet, Nice adds.

A copy of the guidance is available here.