Following a low-calorie diet could put type 2 diabetes in remission for at least five years, new data suggests.
Around a quarter of people in remission from diabetes two years after starting a low-calorie diet were still in remission three years later, figures from the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) show.
These people no longer needed to take medication to manage their blood sugar levels and had an average weight loss of around 1st 6lb (8.9kg) at the five-year point.
Losing weight and keeping it off can help reverse diabetes, the data suggests. Obesity plays a major role in people with type 2 diabetes, with research suggesting that obese people are up to 80 times more likely to develop the condition than those with a healthy body mass index (BMI) of less than 22.
Of the 298 people who took part in the original DiRECT study, half received standard diabetes care from their GP, and half were put on a diet with support from health professionals.
This included a low-calorie, nutrient-complete soup and shake diet (around 800 calories per day) for between 12 and 20 weeks, together with support from a nurse or dietician to reintroduce healthy foods and maintain weight loss.
Medications for type 2 diabetes and blood pressure were stopped at the beginning of the programme and reintroduced as necessary.
At the end of the original two-year study, 95 of the 149 people on the weight-loss programme agreed to take part in an extension study lasting three years.
This new data shows that, of this group of 95 people, 48 were in remission at the start of the extension study, and 23% of these were still in remission three years later.
Remission was closely linked to weight loss and keeping the pounds off. Researchers said those people who came out of remission had regained the weight they had lost.
Diabetes UK, which funded the study, said the findings support growing evidence that weight loss and remission from type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the complications of diabetes.
“Type 2 diabetes causes a range of progressive and life-shortening complications, notably blindness, infections, amputations, kidney failure, and heart failure,” Professor Mike Lean, at the University of Glasgow, who co-led the study, said.
“The DiRECT extension (study) has shown us that a substantial proportion of people, managed in primary care, can maintain sufficient weight loss to be free from the condition for up to five years,” he adds.