Inclusion: HbA1c 6.8-10% Randomization Follow-up Health Care Centre Out- patient clinic Recruiment Screening Baseline 6 month 12 month 24 month FFliogwu-rceha1rt of events in the study Flow-chart of events in the study. From recruiting patients through randomization and follow-up. BMC Public Health 2009, 9:166 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/166 Advertis- ment Outpatient clinic General practitioner Key inclusion cr iter ia Known or newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes Men and women 18 years of age or older Glycated haemoglobin 6.8–10.0% (both incl.) With or without one or more cardiovascular or neurological complications Key exclusion cr iter ia Glycated haemoglobin above 10.0% Prior lifestyle intervention during the last year Planned to start treatment with insulin during the intervention period Severe heart, liver, or kidney disease or incurable cancer FKiegyuirneclu2sion and exclusion criteria Key inclusion and exclusion criteria. local supermarket [21]. Patients' spouses are encouraged to join the cooking courses. The physical exercise programme is supervised and is 90 minutes in duration and sessions take place twice a week for 12 weeks. The sessions are group-based, but a physio- therapist tailors an individual exercise programme for each patient including both aerobic and resistance exer- cise [22]. After initial measurement of blood-glucose lev- els, the patients start the warm-up exercise for 20 minutes. This is followed by basic exercise training for 15 minutes, followed by aerobic exercise on a bicycle ergometer for 12 minutes, resistance training (seated leg press, chest press, pull down and leg extension) for 25 minutes, stretch for 10 minutes, followed by a final blood-glucose measure- ment. The patients are advised to perform 30 minutes of physical activity on at least three additional days per week according to international guidelines [23]. In addition patients are offered an optional smoking cessation course if needed. Before patients enter the programme they participate in an individual motivational interview with a nurse or a phys- iotherapist. The personnel are educated and continuously supervised in the use of the motivational interviewing technique by a specialized psychologist [24]. The patients set personal goals, and these goals are evaluated after the intervention programme at a final consultation and 1 and 3 months later by telephone follow-up contacts. Page 3 of 8 (page number not for citation purposes)