A clinical trial found that 54% of adults under 45 with early-onset type 2 diabetes achieved remission within six months by following a combined program of restricted diet and supervised exercise. Only 4% of participants receiving standard care reached remission.
The trial enrolled 96 participants aged 18 to 45 with early-onset type 2 diabetes and obesity at research centers in England and Canada. Half received intensive lifestyle intervention, and half received usual care. The intensive group followed a diet of 800 to 900 calories daily (30% protein, 50% carbohydrate, 20% fat) paired with supervised aerobic and resistance exercise twice weekly plus one independent session weekly during weeks 1-12. Participants then maintained their weight loss while continuing independent exercise through week 24. Researchers measured remission by checking HbA1c levels (a three-month average of blood sugar) below 6.5% without glucose-lowering medication for at least 12 weeks.
After 24 weeks, 27 of 50 intervention participants achieved remission compared with 2 of 46 in the control group. Participants in the intensive program were 21 times more likely to achieve remission after statistical adjustment. Those following the combined program lost an average of 7.5 kg more weight than controls, with 6.6 kg of that being fat loss.
Adverse events were more common in the intensive group, affecting 43 of 50 participants. Most common side effects during early restrictive dieting included constipation, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Researchers reported no severe adverse events.
The findings appeared in The Lancet Regional Health Americas and were presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Researchers included Professor Kaberi Dasgupta of McGill University in Montreal and Professor Thomas Yates of the University of Leicester.