5:2 diet yields better results than drugs for type 2 diabetes patients (2024)

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The 5:2 diet, made famous by TV diet guru and Daily Mail columnist Dr Michael Mosley, yields better results for type 2diabetes patients than medication, a study suggests.

The much-loved doctor and author, who died earlier this month at the resort of Agia Marina in Symi, was best known for his revolutionary slimming plan which involves fasting for two days a week, and eating a balanced diet the rest of the time.

Politicians including former chancellor George Osborne and Rishi Sunak are said to have tried fasting.

AndJennifer Aniston, Chris Pratt and Kourtney Kardashianare among the Hollywood A-listers to have jumped on the diet trend since it shot to prominence in the early 2010s.

Now, a clinical trial of overweight and obese adults with type 2 diabetes has found the approach can improve blood glucose levels and boost weight lossmore than taking common medication for the condition.

A team led by scientists at Beijing Hospital in China recruited more than 400 patients who were assigned to three groups.

One received the diabetes drug metformin, one received another diabetes drug called empagliflozin, and another were put on the 5:2 diet.

Participants in the 5:2 group consumed a low-energy replacement meal two days a week, with a daily intake of 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men.

On the remaining five days they chose their own breakfast and lunch but had the low-calorie meal replacement for dinner.

They were also encouraged to monitor their calorie intake for the treatment period.

Analysis revealed that those in the 5:2 group achieved better blood glucose levels at 16 weeks compared to those who took either drug.

This group also achieved the biggest weight loss of 9.7kg compared to 5.5 kg for the metformin group and 5.8kg for the empagliflozin group.

Writing in the journal Jama Network Open, the researchers said: ‘The 5:2 meal replacement approach may serve as an effective initial lifestyle intervention instead of antidiabetic drugs for patients with type 2 diabetes.’

Dr Mosley was first introduced to the 5:2 diet through a 2011 study and it became the backbone of his 2013 book The Fast Diet.

On the diet's website, Dr Mosley said those following it can expect to lose around 0.5kg a week and enjoy health benefits from improvements to blood pressure and cholesterol levels to better insulin sensitivity.

The health guru even found personal success with the 5:2 diet when he reversed his type 2 diabetes.

Commenting on the study Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow, said: ‘This trial is relatively simple and shows what we already know – that weight excess is the key driver for diabetes and thus weight loss improves glucose levels meaningfully.

‘The issue is whether such changes and the 5:2 diets are sustainable, especially as the trial was rather short term…with greater than expected weight losses in all three arms.’

Figures show that there were around 3 million patients prescribed drugs used to treat diabetes in England in 2020/21.

Jennifer AnistonKourtney KardashianChris Pratt