Low-calorie diets have the potential to help people with type 2 diabetes to put their diabetes into remission. Our Chief Executive, Chris Askew OBE, is calling for the NHS soups and shakes programme to be rolled out across the whole of the UK.
Our CEO, Chris Askew OBE, said:
"Diabetes UK funded the first research showing remission from type 2 diabetes is possible through a low-calorie diet. We are now seeing our 15-year legacy of remission research translated into services that are benefiting thousands of people across the UK.
"NHS England’s expansion of the ‘soups and shakes’ low-calorie diet programme across a further 11 areas in England is an important step in widening access to vital support that will offer more people living with type 2 diabetes the chance to lose weight and potentially put their condition into remission.
Supporting people on low-calorie diets
"The programme supports people with type 2 diabetes to lose weight rapidly by replacing their normal diet with low-calorie formula soups and shakes for three months, followed by gradual reintroduction of food. Crucially, it offers ongoing support from clinicians and coaches, with more than 2,000 people with type 2 diabetes benefitting since the pilot launched in 2020.
"People are in remission from type 2 when they have had an average blood sugar level below the diabetes range for at least six months without the need for diabetes medication. It is not a ‘one-off’ event, but an ongoing process, and people who put their type 2 diabetes into remission will need to continue to keep off the weight they’ve lost to reduce the chance of their blood sugars moving back into the diabetes range.
"With 4.9 million people now living with diabetes in the UK, and the majority of these with type 2, it is vital that the ‘soups and shakes’ plan is rolled out across the UK, giving thousands more the chance to put their type 2 diabetes into remission."
