{"id":884915,"date":"2026-10-17T00:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/884915\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T00:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T00:02:09","slug":"this-diet-and-exercise-combination-put-early-onset-diabetes-into-remission-in-half-of-participants-sciencealert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/884915\/","title":{"rendered":"This Diet And Exercise Combination Put Early-Onset Diabetes Into Remission in Half of Participants : ScienceAlert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Type 2 diabetes<\/a> is not necessarily a lifelong diagnosis or a disease that gets progressively worse over time.<\/p>\n

Today, there is strong evidence to suggest that the risk of developing this metabolic disorder can be reduced by up to 58 percent<\/a> in people who have prediabetes.<\/p>\n

Diet and exercise are a key part of that.<\/p>\n

Researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada have now identified a way to put more than 50 percent of patients with early onset type 2 diabetes into remission.<\/p>\n

It involves a low-calorie diet and a supervised exercise program.<\/p>\n

“Our remission rates are at the upper end of those previously reported in the literature for trials of similar duration,” the authors write<\/a>, led by Kaberi Dasgupta at McGill University in Canada.<\/p>\n

These findings, the team argues<\/a>, reinforce the potential of lifestyle interventions to “support clinically meaningful remission”.<\/p>\n

They also demonstrate “for the first time that such effects can be achieved in a multi-ethnic population with early onset type 2 diabetes through a combined low-energy diet and structured exercise intervention.”<\/p>\n

Early-onset type 2 diabetes is often defined as a diagnosis at 45 years of age or younger, and it tends to progress more rapidly than cases that come on later in life.<\/p>\n

Patients with early-onset diabetes show accelerated deterioration in glucose levels and they face an increased risk of premature health complications and death.<\/p>\n

In some cases, however, positive changes can be made.<\/p>\n

The randomized trial took place at three centers in Canada and the the UK and included 96 participants of various ethnicities with early onset type 2 diabetes and obesity, who were not on insulin therapy.<\/p>\n

The average age of the group was 38. <\/p>\n

In the current trial, roughly half the group was randomized to continue their lives as per normal, while the other half began a low-energy diet and exercise intervention.<\/p>\n

The diet involved eating roughly 800\u2013900 calories a day, and the exercise intervention involved a twice-weekly supervised session of aerobic and resistance training, and a once-weekly independent exercise.<\/p>\n

The health of participants was closely supervised.<\/p>\n

After 12 weeks, participants switched to a weight-maintenance diet and continued exercising independently for a further 12 weeks.<\/p>\n

At 24 weeks, remission was achieved in 27 out of 50 participants within the intervention group.<\/p>\n

By comparison, only two participants in the control group entered remission.<\/p>\n

That’s a difference of 50 percent, and it was all achieved without glucose-lowering medicine.<\/p>\n

\"AType 2 diabetes remission rates after 12 and 24 weeks in participants following a low-calorie diet and exercise program, compared with a control group. (Dasgupta et al., The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Americas, 2026)<\/p>\n

Participants in the intervention group achieved substantial fat mass loss compared to the control group, but crucially, they also preserved muscle mass and strength.<\/p>\n

By the end of the trial, their cardiovascular health showed several improvements, including a 10.3 percent increase in respiratory fitness relative to body mass, and a lower resting blood pressure and heart rate.<\/p>\n

The left ventricles of the heart also appeared to be a healthier shape and structure compared to the control group.<\/p>\n

In surveys, participants reported that their distress from diabetes had decreased and their quality of life had increased.<\/p>\n

“Our findings demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of combining structured aerobic and resistance exercise with low-energy diets in early onset type 2 diabetes,” the authors conclude<\/a>, “supporting its potential to deliver substantial and holistic health and well-being benefits alongside diabetes remission.”<\/p>\n

The trial only lasted 24 weeks, so it is unclear how long these benefits might last for.<\/p>\n

At this point, it’s also unclear whether diet or exercise played a larger role.<\/p>\n

While other trials have considered how a low-energy diet might put early onset type 2 diabetes into remission, focusing solely on weight loss may risk a loss of muscle mass.<\/p>\n

Muscle is important for metabolic health. It is a primary site of glucose disposal, and it is also a major determinant of how the body responds to insulin.<\/p>\n

When too much fat is deposited in muscle, some studies suggest it can impair insulin signalling.<\/p>\n

The authors of the recent trial suggest that future studies randomize participants to receive a low-energy diet or an exercise intervention, as well as both at the same time, to see how all three outcomes compare.<\/p>\n

“Our findings indicate fat-free mass and muscle preservation is achievable with rapid weight loss,” the team concludes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Preserving muscle during remission-oriented weight loss may have important implications for long-term metabolic health, physical function, and disease trajectory. This requires examination in a longer-term study.”<\/p>\n

The research has been published in The Lancet Regional Health \u2013 Americas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article was fact-checked by Fiona MacDonald<\/a> and edited by Fiona MacDonald<\/a>. While we pride ourselves on our process, we are only human. If you spot a mistake, please let us know<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Type 2 diabetes is not necessarily a lifelong diagnosis or a disease that gets progressively worse over time.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97,1352],"class_list":["post-884915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-msft-content"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}