NHS England has announced that one-third (32%) of patients who took part in the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme (T2DR) have had their type 2 diabetes (T2D) put into remission.
The findings from the ‘soups and shakes’ study, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, have the potential to benefit thousands more people in England.
More than 4.3 million people in the UK have diabetes, and T2D, a condition that causes the level of sugar in the blood to become too high, accounts for approximately 90% of all cases.
As part of a joint initiative between the NHS and Diabetes UK, between September 2020 and the end of 2022, 7,540 people were referred to the T2DR programme to replace meals with low-calorie, total diet replacement products, including soups and shakes consisting of 800 to 900 calories for 12 weeks, along with support to reintroduce healthy, nutritious food into their diet to maintain weight loss and monitor their progress.
Patients included people aged 18 to 65 years who have had a diagnosis of T2D within the last six years and have a BMI over 27kg/m2 for white ethnic groups or 25kg/m2 for black, Asian and other ethnic groups.
The DiRECT trial previously demonstrated that nearly 50% of patients achieved remission of their T2D after one year, while a quarter achieved a 15kg or more weight loss – 86% of whom put their T2D into remission.
Another trial, called DROPLET, demonstrated similar results in weight loss in people who were living with obesity, which was estimated to impact more than 25% of adults in England in 2021, according to the Health Survey for England.
Dr Clare Hambling, NHS national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, commented: “The [T2DR] Programme can have a huge impact on the lives of participants, and it’s brilliant that these findings show a large number of those who completed it have seen life-changing benefits, including major weight loss and T2D remission… and we’re looking forward to scoping any further expansion [of] this programme in due course.”
Earlier this year, in May, the NHS announced an investment of £13m to support the T2DR Programme expansion.