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 & 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.
Notes to Editors:
- Between Sept 1, 2020, and Dec 31, 2022, 7540 people were
referred to the programme; of those, 1740 started total diet
replacement (TDR) before January, 2022, and therefore had a full
12-month opportunity to undertake the programme by the time of
data extraction at the end of December, 2022. Of those who
started TDR before January, 2022, 960 (55%) completed the
programme (defined as having a weight recorded at 12
months).
- The mean weight loss for the 1710 participants who
started the programme before January, 2022 and had no missing
data was 8·3% (95% CI 7·9–8·6) or 9·4 kg (8·9–9·8), and the
mean weight loss for the 945 participants who completed the
programme was 9·3% (8·8–9·8) or 10·3 kg (9·7–10·9).
- For the subgroup of 710 (42%) of 1710 participants who
started the programme before January, 2022, and also had two
HbA1c measurements recorded, 190 (27%) had remission, with
mean weight loss of 13·4% (12·3–14·5) or 14·8 kg (13·4–16·3).
- Of the 945 participants who completed the programme, 450
(48%) had two HbA measurements recorded; of these, 145 (32%)
had remission, with mean weight loss of 14·4% (13·2–15·5) or
15·9 kg (14·3–17·4).
