Study Finds 54 Percent of Young Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Achieve Remission Through Diet and Exercise
A clinical trial published in The Lancet Regional Health found that 54 percent of young adults with type 2 diabetes achieved remission within six months through a low-calorie diet and structured exercise program. The RESET for Remission study enrolled 96 participants aged 18 to 45 across research centers in the UK and Canada. Only 4 percent of those receiving standard care achieved remission during the same period.
More than half of young adults with type 2 diabetes achieved remission within six months by following a low-calorie diet and structured exercise program, according to a clinical trial published in The Lancet Regional Health.
The RESET for Remission study enrolled 96 participants aged 18 to 45 with obesity and early-onset type 2 diabetes at research centers in the United Kingdom and Canada. Participants were not using insulin at the time of enrollment.
Those in the intensive intervention group followed a 24-week program. For the first 12 weeks, they consumed 800 to 900 calories per day, with a breakdown of 30 percent protein, 50 percent carbohydrates, and 20 percent fat. They also completed two weekly sessions of supervised aerobic and resistance exercise, plus one independent session per week. The second 12 weeks shifted to a weight-maintenance diet with independent exercise.
At the end of the study, 27 of 50 participants in the intervention group, or 54 percent, achieved remission. Remission was defined as an HbA1c level below 6.5 percent while taking no glucose-lowering medication for at least 12 weeks. In the standard care group, only 2 of 46 participants, or 4 percent, achieved remission.
The intervention group also lost an average of 8.4 kilograms, compared to 1.2 kilograms in the control group. Researchers noted that the program preserved muscle mass through resistance training while reducing fat.
Additional benefits included lower blood pressure, lower resting heart rate, and a 10.3 percent improvement in respiratory fitness relative to body weight.
Researchers cautioned that the study lasted only 24 weeks, so the long-term durability of remission remains to be confirmed. Future research will examine whether these results hold up over time in real-world settings outside of clinical trials.
