EASD: Combined Intervention in Early-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Tied to High Remission Rates

TUESDAY, Oct. 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A combined intervention of low-energy diet (LED) and structured supervised exercise can induce remission in early-onset type 2 diabetes (EOT2D), with higher remission rates than usual care alone, according to a study published online Oct. 1 in The Lancet Regional Health: Americas to coincide with the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 in Milan.

Kaberi Dasgupta, M.D., from McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial among adults aged 18 to 45 years with EOT2D and obesity, not on insulin therapy, to examine whether a combined intervention could induce remission. Ninety-six participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to usual care alone or an intervention combining 800 to 900 kcal/day LED, twice-weekly supervised and once-weekly independent exercise (weeks 1 to 12), followed by a weight-maintenance diet with independent exercise (weeks 23 to 24).

The researchers found that remission at 24 weeks occurred in 54 and 4 percent of intervention and control participants, respectively (adjusted odds ratio, 21.6), without serious adverse events. Most intervention group participants experienced at least one adverse event (43/50 versus 6/46); these were mainly early LED effects, which resolved.

“Our remission rates are at the upper end of those previously reported in the literature for trials of similar duration, reinforcing the potential of structured lifestyle interventions to support clinically meaningful remission, while demonstrating 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,” the authors said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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