NHS to offer diet which helps lose 1.5st in a year to 10,000

The NHS will introduce a new national initiative to help 10,000 people per year reverse type 2 diabetes through an 800-calorie-a-day “soup and shake” diet. Participants will consume low-calorie meal replacement products like soups, milkshakes, and snack bars for three months, leading to rapid weight loss and diabetes remission in approximately half of cases.

Recent findings presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice demonstrated that patients on the program lost an average of 10kg after one year and experienced significant improvements in blood sugar control. The study was conducted by the University of Leeds and involved 838 participants in pilot programs. The NHS announced the nationwide rollout of the scheme, aiming to benefit 50,000 individuals over the next five years. Referrals to the program will be made by GPs.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive, stated: “Developing type 2 diabetes can have a devastating impact for so many people and their families, and this NHS programme can be truly life-changing in helping reverse the effects of the condition, reducing their risks of significant health complications and supporting them to stay well for the long-term. I’m delighted that thousands of people have already accessed this support on the NHS to improve their health and that many thousands more are now set to benefit this year as we roll it out to every area of England.”

The soup and shakes plan, costing around £1,100 per head, considered a cost-effective option for the NHS. Since its launch in 2020, several thousand NHS patients have participated in pilots of the scheme, previously available in less than half of the country. On average, participants lost 13kg during the first three months.

They are then supported to reintroduce normal food into their diet to maintain weight loss. This programme forms part of a broader strategy to combat obesity and type 2 diabetes, which will also see thousands given access to drugs, known by the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, at NHS clinics.

On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak pledged to roll out these jabs on the NHS, following a landmark study at the European Congress on Obesity that revealed how they can also revolutionise treatment for millions with heart disease, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 20%. The prime minister’s spokesman said: “This new study is welcome because we know the potential for obesity medicines to help more people both lose weight but as this study suggests also cut wider health conditions.”

“That’s why we are committed to the safe introduction of new approved weight loss drugs into the NHS, as well as improving access to existing drugs for those who meet the eligibility criteria.” Ozempic has been approved for use on the NHS for patients with type 2 diabetes while Wegovy, which contains the same key ingredient, semaglutide, is available for patients who are obese and have at least one related condition, such as heart disease.

Michael Mosley, who founded the 5:2 diet and Very Fast 800, has spoken about the diet previously. He said: “There are lots of really good ones [liquid diets] out there,” and spoke about the Shake and Soup diet. “It’s about 800-900 calories, more calories, more protein, all the right ingredients in it and it seems to be very effective. As for weight loss results, it was compared “to a standard diet [and] the people who were on the rapid weight loss diet, they lost more weight, about 1.5st (10kg), but they also had less side effects than the group who went on the standard diet”.

Mr Mosley urged people to speak to a doctor before embarking on a rapid weight loss diet or liquid diet. He also suggested an alternative to liquid diets for anyone looking to lose a considerable amount of weight. “The thing I want to say it doesn’t just have to be a liquid diet; a few years a go with Professor Roy Taylor’s blessing I created something call the Fast 800, a rapid weight loss diet,” Mosley said. Soaring obesity means cases of diabetes have doubled in the past 15 years. More than five million people in the UK are now estimated to have the condition, 90 per cent of them type 2. This costs the NHS more than £10 billion a year because of complications including stroke and kidney failure.

Type 2 diabetes was previously seen as a progressive and lifelong disease, but over the past decade research has shown it can be reversed if patients follow an intensive weight loss plan. Another study, presented at the conference on Tuesday, showed that how childhood obesity greatly massively raises the risk of getting type 2 diabetes as an adult. German researchers looked at data from 2.7 million people aged between two and 29, to estimate the risks of obesity.

They said that a severely obese four year old would have a life expectancy of 39 years, about half the average, and had a 45 per cent chance of developing type 2 diabetes by age 35.