WIREDGOV

A major study has found that the radical NHS “soups and shakes” programme works at scale and is helping hundreds of people put their type 2 diabetes into remission across England.

The 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 in these participants of nearly 16kg.

Published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, the research suggests that the recent expansion of the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission (T2DR) programme to cover all of England has the potential to benefit thousands more people.

The research covers the period between September 2020 and the end of 2022, during which time, 7540 people were referred to the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission (T2DR) program.

Of those who started the programme before January 2022 (1740), the findings show that the average participant had lost over 10kg in one year.

The 12-month innovative programme helps kickstart weight loss by providing participants with low calorie, nutritionally complete, total diet replacement products – such as soups, shakes and bars – consisting of 800 to 900 calories a day, for the first 12 weeks.

Participants are then supported to reintroduce healthy, nutritious food into their diet to maintain weight loss, and their progress is monitored.

During the programme participants are able to choose how they are supported through one-to-one in-person sessions or online.

NHS National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity, Dr Clare Hambling, said: “The NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission 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 type 2 diabetes remission.

“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.”

Patients can benefit from the programme if they have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the last six years, with referrals made by GP practices. The programme is offered to people who meet a set of criteria, which include those who:

• are aged 18 – 65 years
• have a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes within the last six years, and
• have a BMI over 27 kg/m2 (where individuals are from White ethnic groups) or over 25 kg/m2 (where individuals are from Black, Asian and other ethnic groups)

Over 25,000 people have already been offered the programme since it was first piloted by NHS England in 2020 as part of its Long-Term Plan.

Dr Elizabeth Robertson, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: “Diabetes UK is proud to have funded over a decade of research that has 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.

“We hope to see even more people benefiting in years to come and an increase in referrals to the programme especially for people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and in younger people where the impact of type 2 diabetes and remission from it is greatest.”

Previous analysis also shows that the programme is effective and can work successfully to support weight loss, with participants typically losing 7.2kg (over one stone) on average after one month.

In May, the NHS announced an investment of £13 million this year to support the programme’s expansion, and since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, local NHS teams have been given £36 million by NHS England to help restore their diabetes services to pre-pandemic levels.