Key Summary
- One-third of participants achieved remission with major weight loss
- Programme offers structured low-calorie diets with clinician support
- Now available nationwide for eligible patients through NHS England
The ‘soups and shakes’ diet programme launched last year by the NHS to help type 2 diabetes patients is showing results.
Over 13,000 people signed up for the programme, also known as NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme, and a recent study found that 1 in 3 (32%) participants had put their type 2 diabetes into remission, with an average weight loss of nearly 16 kilograms.
NHS diabetes experts estimate that hundreds more people who started the programme in 2024-25 will be able to put their condition into remission.
The 12-month programme, a joint initiative between NHS England and Diabetes UK, helps participants lose weight by providing them with low calorie, nutritionally complete, total diet replacement products - such as soups, shakes and bars - consisting of 800 to 900 calories a day, for the first 12 weeks.
Participants are then supported by clinicians and coaches to reintroduce healthy, nutritious food into their diet to maintain weight loss; and their progress is monitored.
During the programme participants can choose how they are supported through 1-to-1 in-person sessions or digitally online.
Over 30,000 people have started the programme since it was first piloted by NHS England in 2020 and it is now available in every local health area.
To join the programme, the participant should meet the eligibility criteria and their GP or diabetes team considers the programme to be suitable for them.
To be eligible a person must have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and have a BMI over 27 kg/m2 or over 25 kg/m2 (for people from Black, Asian and other ethnic groups).
“Remission can transform lives, offering people with a recent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes a better chance of a healthier future, helping them live well and reduce the risk of devastating diabetes-related complications,” commented Colette Marshall, chief executive at Diabetes UK.
Health minister Baroness Gillian Merron said, “This is our 10 Year Health Plan’s shift from treatment to prevention in action, and we’re determined to make sure even more people can access support like this in the years ahead”.
