Thousands of obese Britons are expected to be prescribed the NHS’ soup and shake diets to help them slim down after a trial found people shed more than two stone in three months. The NHS announced that it was expanding the diet programme to 11 more regions in England after the diet was found to help people reverse type 2 diabetes.
Overweight patients will be referred by their GP and given low-calorie shakes and soups for free on the NHS for three months. The scheme is part of the health service’s plan to tackle diabetes and costs the NHS £10 billion a year. Over four million people have diabetes in the UK and 90 per cent of these have type 2, which is linked to obesity.
As part of an NHS trial, 2,000 patients with type 2 diabetes were put on the diet and on average lost more than two stone after three months. Research shows around half of those who lose weight on this diet can achieve remission from diabetes within a year. The diet is open to people aged 18 to 65 diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the past six years with a body mass index over 27.
