Type 2 diabetes in young adults: a low-calorie diet with supervised exercise led to remission in more than half of participants

Illustrative image: A young man in a hoodie, seen from behind, walks at dawn with a water bottle and a bag of vegetables; a group exercises in the distance. He is not a study participant.

A clinical trial published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas found that a program combining a low-calorie diet with supervised exercise put type 2 diabetes into remission in more than half of the young adults who followed it, the University of Leicester, the McGill University Health Centre and Infobae reported.

The difference from the control group was huge.

What participants did

The study, called RESET for Remission, included 96 people aged 18 to 45 with obesity and early-onset type 2 diabetes in the UK and Canada. The average age was 38. Roughly half followed the program; the rest received usual care.

The program consisted of a diet of 800 to 900 calories a day for 12 weeks, with all meals replaced by formulated nutrition products for the first 14 days, plus two supervised exercise sessions a week combining aerobic and strength training. All with professional follow-up.

The results

At 24 weeks, 27 of 50 participants (54%) in the program had reached remission, compared with 2 of 46 (4%) in the usual-care group: according to the authors, those who followed the intervention were 21 times more likely to achieve remission. The researchers defined remission as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) below 6.5% without glucose-lowering medication for at least 12 weeks.

The program group lost an average of 8.4 kg, versus 1.2 kg in the control group, and according to the authors preserved muscle mass and improved fitness, something the supervised exercise was meant to protect. Side effects were common, especially at the start: 43 of the 50 program participants reported at least one, such as constipation, headache, dizziness or fatigue, but there were no serious events, according to Infobae.

The researchers themselves point to limits: follow-up lasted only six months and the study did not compare against a diet-only group, so it is unknown how much each part contributes or whether remission lasts in the long term.

Why early-onset diabetes matters

According to Infobae, type 2 diabetes that appears in young adults is often associated with a faster loss of glucose control and more years of exposure to cardiovascular, kidney and neurological complications. That is why the study focused on this group.

None of the participants used insulin and all had been diagnosed within the previous six years. Adherence was high: on average they attended 17 of the 20 supervised sessions. Even so, meal replacements, access to gyms or trained professionals, and work or caregiving schedules can make the program hard to carry into daily life.

Nor can the results be automatically applied to older adults, people with long-standing diabetes, insulin users or patients without obesity. And remission is not a cure: blood sugar can rise again and requires regular monitoring.

Important: an 800-to-900-calorie diet is not something to do on your own. In the trial, glucose medications and, in some cases, blood pressure drugs were withdrawn within the protocol and under medical supervision, because of the risks a drastic calorie cut combined with medication changes can carry. The experts quoted insist on not stopping any treatment or starting such a plan without supervision. If you have diabetes and are interested in remission, talk to your doctor.

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Sources

• The Lancet Regional Health – Americas: ensayo RESET for Remission
• Universidad de Leicester: dieta y ejercicio revierten la diabetes temprana en la mitad
• Infobae: dieta baja en calorías y ejercicio para la remisión de la diabetes tipo 2