A new clinical trial has found that more than half of young adults with early type 2 diabetes went into remission within six months through a supervised programme of diet and exercise. The study, published on 1 October in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, tested whether intensive weight loss combined with structured exercise could reverse the condition in its early stages.
After six months, 54 percent of people in the intervention group had achieved remission, compared with just 4 percent of those receiving usual care. Remission was defined as blood sugar levels, measured by HbA1c, below 6.5 percent without glucose-lowering medication for at least three months.
The trial involved 96 adults aged 18 to 45 with obesity who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the previous six years. The average age of participants was around 38, and their average duration of diabetes was just over two years. The study was carried out in Canada and the United Kingdom.
What the programme involved
For the first 12 weeks, participants followed a supervised diet of 800 to 900 calories a day, using meal replacements for the first two weeks. Alongside the diet, they took part in two supervised aerobic and resistance exercise sessions each week, plus a third session carried out independently.
Those in the intervention group lost around 16.5 pounds (7.5 kilograms) more body fat than the usual-care group, and their grip strength improved by about 8 percent. However, only 40 percent of participants met all of the study’s adherence criteria, showing how demanding the programme was.
Researchers cautioned that the follow-up lasted only six months, so the results do not show whether remission lasts over the longer term. Remission is not the same as a permanent cure, and diabetes can return if weight is regained or healthy habits are not maintained.
Experts also stressed a safety warning: a very low-calorie diet must not be tried without close medical supervision, especially by people taking insulin or sulfonylurea medicines, as blood sugar can fall dangerously low. Anyone considering such an approach should first speak to their doctor.
