One in three people with type-2 diabetes went into remission after following the NHS ‘soup and shake’ diet, which promises ‘life-changing’ benefits for people living with the condition.
Patients are prescribed an 800-calorie-a-day diet, which involves low-calorie meal replacement products such as soups, milkshakes and snack bars for three months, triggering rapid weight loss, before getting support to reintroduce normal food into their diet.
Dr Clare Hambling, NHS England’s national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, said the health service’s type-2 diabetes path to remission programme was having a ‘huge impact’ on the lives of participants.
‘We know obesity is one of the biggest threats to health in the UK and will be one of the biggest and most costly challenges for health systems globally, so seeing such encouraging outcomes from our programme shows that obesity can be tackled head-on, and we’re looking forward to scoping any further expansion to this programme in due course.’
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The NHS study showed that of those who completed the programme and were measured twice, 1 in 3 (32%) had put their type-2 diabetes into remission, with an average weight loss of nearly 16kg in these participants.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, said the charity was proud to have funded research over more than a decade that had ‘forged new frontiers’ for people with type-2 diabetes and ‘put remission on the map’.
‘These latest findings add to the real-world evidence that the NHS England type-2 diabetes path to remission programme can help thousands of people living with type-2 diabetes on their weight loss and remission journey, which we know is tough and having support is critical.’
More than 25,000 people have taken part in the scheme since it was launched in 2020. In May this year, NHS officials said the diet would be offered across England to 50,000 people across five years, doubling the capacity of the programme.
Adults aged 18 to 65 can enrol if they have been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes in the last six years and if they have a body mass index score of over 27 if they are white. or over 25 if they are from black, Asian or other minority ethnic groups.