We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
LOSING WEIGHT CAN put type 2 diabetes in remission for at least five years, new data suggests.
Figures from the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT) show that around a quarter of people in remission from diabetes two years after starting a low-calorie diet were still in remission three years later.
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.
The data suggests that losing weight and keeping it off can help reverse diabetes, a serious condition which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, narrowing of blood vessels and nerve damage.
Obesity is a major driver of 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.
The proportion of people in remission five years after the original study started was more than three times that of the DiRECT control group, who just received usual GP care.
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.
Anyone who regained more than just over 4lb (2kg) during years three to five of the study were offered an additional package of support, available once a year, consisting of the low-calorie soups and shake diet for four weeks, followed by help while reintroducing normal meals.
Compared to the control group, those put on a diet and offered support had bigger improvements in blood pressure and blood sugar levels and fewer people needed medication.
The number of serious health issues resulting in hospital admission in the dieting group was also less than half that in the control group.
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.
Professor Mike Lean, at the University of Glasgow, who co-led the study, said: “Type 2 diabetes causes a range of progressive and life-shortening complications, notably blindness, infections, amputations, kidney failure and heart failure.
“It affects over four million people in UK and accounts for about 10% of NHS funding.
“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.”
Professor Roy Taylor at Newcastle University, who also led the study, said: “The DiRECT five-year follow-up shows that the rapid weight-loss programme brings about considerable weight loss at five years with low-intensity support.
“The most important question now is how the follow-up programme can be even more successful at an affordable cost.”
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: “The new findings from DiRECT confirm that for some people, it is possible to stay in remission for at least five years.
“For those who put type 2 diabetes into remission, it can be life-changing, offering a better chance of a healthier future.
“For those that aren’t able to go into remission, losing weight can still lead to major health benefits, including improved blood sugar levels, and reduced risk of serious diabetes complications such as heart attack and stroke.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
800 calories a day is way too low. That’s verging on starvation, you would need to have at least 1400 calories a day to have any type of energy to do quality weightlifting which is something that would absolutely be needed to stop your body from losing too much muscle with such a drastic calorie cut.
Losing weight too quickly is not healthy!
I am 38 with a BMI of 21, eat relatively clean and don’t eat a lot of sweets, don’t take sugar in tea or coffee or take sugary cereals or drinks . I have recently been given blood test results and the gp suggested that that I’m pre diabetic based on fasting blood glucose. I was given the results by phone so I don’t think the doctor had information on my weight etc I got told “stop eating sugar” at a complete loss I started cutting out anything with sugar in it (potatoes, bread etc) and weight fell off me. I’ve reverted back to normal eating and cut out white bread but it would appear type 2 diabetes isn’t always linked to diet and weight. Would love more information on how to reduce risk in this area other than lose weight. That’s the information that seems to be the hardest to find.
@Em: Totally Agree with you I only weigh 8 Stone
Well I’m not doctor, but I think that losing weight is an obvious way to avoid diabetes
Anywhere in Ireland able to help with this?
@Madra: You need help to eat properly and do a little bit of exercise?
Plenty of resources on the NHS website, your GP, nutritionist, gyms.
Most people only lack the will to do it.
@Véronique Durand: The Bel end can’t read apparently. Didn’t you see the list of resources? NHS, HSE, Gyms, GP, nutritionists.
But you don’t seems to understand basic sentences.
I Don’t Understand when they say you have to lose Weight to get Diabetis 2 under Control I was Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetis 2 during the Pamdemic I got a Phone call saying I’d have to loose Weight I Literally can’t Afford to lose Weight I only weigh 8 Stone so still puzzling
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say