Low-Calorie Diet and Exercise Reverses Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes in 54 Percent of Trial Participants
A new clinical trial found that 54 percent of adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes entered remission after six months on a supervised low-calorie diet and exercise program. The RESET for Remission trial, published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas, compared an 800-to-900-calorie daily diet with twice-weekly supervised exercise against standard care.
A new clinical trial found that 54 percent of adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes entered remission after six months on a supervised low-calorie diet and exercise program.
The RESET for Remission trial, presented at the 2026 European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting and published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas, enrolled 96 adults from England and Canada between the ages of 18 and 45 who had early-onset type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Early-onset type 2 diabetes is diagnosed before age 45. People diagnosed at a younger age face more decades of living with the condition and a higher risk of complications earlier in life, including neuropathy, retinopathy, and cardiovascular disease.
Participants in the intervention group followed an 800-to-900-calorie-per-day diet for 12 weeks and completed twice-weekly supervised aerobic and resistance exercise sessions. For weeks 13 through 24, they shifted to a weight-maintenance diet and independent exercise.
At the end of 24 weeks, 54 percent of the intervention group entered remission, defined as an HbA1c level below 6.5 percent without glucose-lowering medication for at least 12 weeks. Only 4 percent of the control group, which received standard care, achieved remission.
"This study proves what most physicians have advocated for quite some time," said Dr. David Cutler, a board-certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. "Clearly, diet and exercise can work to improve or even resolve diabetes."
Cutler noted that the strict dietary limits would be difficult for many adults to maintain long-term, and the small sample size raises questions about how broadly the findings apply.
The study followed participants for only six months, so researchers do not yet know how many would remain in remission over the longer term. Further trials with larger populations and longer follow-up periods are planned.
