Remission of diabetes and improved diastolic function by combining Structured Exercise with meal replacement and food reintroduction: The RESET for Remission Trial
Principle Investigator: Professor Tom Yates
Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common and adults are getting it at younger ages. Many young adults (aged 18-40 years) are now being diagnosed with the disease. This is worrying because heart, kidney and physical function problems related to diabetes can therefore happen at an early age.
Past studies have shown that low energy diets lead to over half of people reversing their type 2 diabetes. This means that blood sugar levels return to normal. This is called ‘reversing diabetes.’ A low energy diet means eating a lot less than normal for a short period of time. Once people have lost enough weight, they can start to eat regular food again.
Structured exercise, such as walking and simple weight training activities, can also improve blood sugar levels as well as heart function. The effect of combining the two approaches – low energy diet and structured exercise – has not been studied together in terms of reversing diabetes.
The main aim of this study is to see whether combining structured exercise and a low calorie diet over a 24 week period can reverse diabetes, improve heart health and overall well-being in young adults with type 2 diabetes. Participants will be aged 18-40 and have type 2 diabetes.
This study is a randomised trial. This means that the treatment participants receive will be randomly chosen. This will either be:
1) Usual standard care – Participants will have assessments taken by our research team but will not be offered the exercise or dietary programme (dietary component offered ‘after’ the study for those who complete their assessments).
2) A combination of an exercise programme and a low calorie diet – participants will have assessments taken (just like group 1 above), but will also engage in 24 weeks of an exercise program created especially for individual participants by our exercise physiologists. Participants will also receive a low calorie nutritional plan including free meal replacement products from our study Nutritionists.
For more information about the RESET For Remission trial, please contact:
Dr. Matthew McCarthy (trial manager) – mm636@le.ac.uk