BRITAIN'S Type 2 diabetes epidemic could be reversed, saving the NHS billions of pounds, if all sufferers went on a soup and shake diet, research has suggested.
Patients start with soup-shake diet (Image: Getty Images)
The three-stage plan involves eating 830 calories a day for 12-16 weeks before being reintroduced to healthy normal food and given help to achieve long-term weight loss. The "nutritionally complete" meals, which come in a variety of flavours, contain carbohydrates, protein, fat and essential minerals. The results suggest rolling out the plan to the 3.3 million who suffer from the obesity-driven condition could cost less than £10million, a fraction of the current cost of diabetes met by the NHS.
First-year results from the DiRECT trial show it is possible to reverse a condition that now costs the NHS £14billion a year in a matter of months.
Analysis published today reveals that the programme would cost about £1,067 per person in its first year.
Glasgow University health economist Professor Andrew Briggs said: "This intervention is relatively inexpensive when compared to managing Type 2 and we anticipate more cost savings further down the line.
"If people can stay in remission and therefore reduce their chances of developing diabetes complications, the cost savings to the NHS could be substantial."
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas, a small gland behind the stomach, fails to produce insulin - the hormone regulating blood glucose levels.
If the amount of glucose is too high it can, over time, damage vital organs.
Just 10 per cent of sufferers have Type 1, but it is the most common type of childhood diabetes.
In Type 2, the pancreas either fails to produce enough insulin or the cells do not react to it, meaning glucose remains in the bloodstream and is not used as fuel for energy.
The three-stage plan involves eating 830 calories a day (Image: Pavel Boychenko / EyeEm/ Getty Images)
The condition can lead to serious complications such as blindness, amputations, heart disease and kidney failure.
Diabetes is much more aggressive in children and young people, with a higher overall risk of complications that tend to appear much earlier.
Unlike Type 1, the risk of developing Type 2 is significantly increased by being overweight or obese.
Type 2 now affects one in 10 UK adults.
There are even 6,836 sufferers under 25 and cases are soaring.
A new diagnosis is made every two minutes with the number of prescriptions issued for the disorder rocketing by 80 per cent in just a decade.
A further 12.5 million people are at increased risk of the disease.
Researchers used data from a trial on 300 people aged 20 to 65 across Glasgow and Tyneside who had Type 2 for less than six years.
They were initially put on a liquid diet, then long-term support from GPs was aimed at reintroducing healthy food and maintaining weight loss rather than a reliance on medication.
Economists compared treatment costs of those on the weight loss programme to those receiving standard NHS care.
They found that the cost of the 12-month DiRECT regime, allowing for fewer drugs and medical needs, was £1,067.
By the end of the study's first year, 46 per cent of participants were in remission.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, explained: "If people can remain in remission and therefore reduce their risk of developing serious diabetes-related complications in the future, the cost savings to the NHS could be significant.
Analysis published today reveals that the programme would cost about £1,067 per person in its first year.
Glasgow University health economist Professor Andrew Briggs said: "This intervention is relatively inexpensive when compared to managing Type 2 and we anticipate more cost savings further down the line.
"If people can stay in remission and therefore reduce their chances of developing diabetes complications, the cost savings to the NHS could be substantial."
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas, a small gland behind the stomach, fails to produce insulin - the hormone regulating blood glucose levels.
If the amount of glucose is too high it can, over time, damage vital organs.
Just 10 per cent of sufferers have Type 1, but it is the most common type of childhood diabetes.
In Type 2, the pancreas either fails to produce enough insulin or the cells do not react to it, meaning glucose remains in the bloodstream and is not used as fuel for energy.
The condition can lead to serious complications such as blindness, amputations, heart disease and kidney failure.
Diabetes is much more aggressive in children and young people, with a higher overall risk of complications that tend to appear much earlier.
Unlike Type 1, the risk of developing Type 2 is significantly increased by being overweight or obese.
Type 2 now affects one in 10 UK adults.
There are even 6,836 sufferers under 25 and cases are soaring.
A new diagnosis is made every two minutes with the number of prescriptions issued for the disorder rocketing by 80 per cent in just a decade.
A further 12.5 million people are at increased risk of the disease.
Researchers used data from a trial on 300 people aged 20 to 65 across Glasgow and Tyneside who had Type 2 for less than six years.
They were initially put on a liquid diet, then long-term support from GPs was aimed at reintroducing healthy food and maintaining weight loss rather than a reliance on medication.
Economists compared treatment costs of those on the weight loss programme to those receiving standard NHS care.
They found that the cost of the 12-month DiRECT regime, allowing for fewer drugs and medical needs, was £1,067.
By the end of the study's first year, 46 per cent of participants were in remission.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at Diabetes UK, explained: "If people can remain in remission and therefore reduce their risk of developing serious diabetes-related complications in the future, the cost savings to the NHS could be significant.
"Costs aside, remission from Type 2 - and the possibility of living free of the condition - has to be the preferred option for people and clinicians alike."
Britain's consumption of sugary snacks has had a devastating impact on public health.
More than one child in five is obese or overweight in their first year of primary school, rising to one in three by the time they leave.
Latest NHS figures show in 2016/17 that there were 617,000 hospital admissions where obesity was a factor, up nearly one-fifth in a year.
Britain's consumption of sugary snacks has had a devastating impact on public health.
More than one child in five is obese or overweight in their first year of primary school, rising to one in three by the time they leave.
Latest NHS figures show in 2016/17 that there were 617,000 hospital admissions where obesity was a factor, up nearly one-fifth in a year.
Mike Lean, professor of human nutrition at Glasgow University, linked said: "It is now becoming hard to see why, ethically, people with Type 2 should not be offered the chance, and supported, to achieve remission if they can.
"This is no quick fix, but instead a promising medical treatment with potentially huge benefits."
In April the Government slapped a tax on sugary drinks with shoppers paying up to 24p more a litre.
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1062418/diabetes-type-2-soup-shake-diet-research-NHS
"This is no quick fix, but instead a promising medical treatment with potentially huge benefits."
In April the Government slapped a tax on sugary drinks with shoppers paying up to 24p more a litre.
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/1062418/diabetes-type-2-soup-shake-diet-research-NHS
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