54% of under-45s remitted type 2 diabetes in 6 months — RESET trial

The full story behind my Short: RESET for Remission (Leicester/McGill/Alberta): 54% (27/50) of adults 18–45 on 800–900 kcal/day + supervised exercise remitted at 24 weeks vs 4% (2/46) usual care; 14/14 remitted at ≥10% weight loss. Lancet Reg Health Am 2026. 6-month follow-up only.

6-month RCT only — longer real-world follow-up still needed. Very low-calorie diets need medical supervision. This page is not medical advice. Ask your doctor before any LED.

The short version

In the RESET for Remission randomised trial, more than half of younger adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes reached remission in six months on a low-calorie diet plus structured exercise — versus 4% on usual care [1][2][3].

54% vs 4%27/50 intervention vs 2/46 usual care · 24 weeks
800–900 kcal/day+ supervised aerobic & resistance exercise
14/14 remittedeveryone with ≥10% weight loss
96 adults18–45 yrs · obesity · not on insulin

What they found

Remission meant HbA1c <6.5% (48 mmol/mol) off glucose-lowering drugs for ≥12 weeks. Sites: Leicester, McGill (Montreal), Alberta. Intervention participants lost ~7.5 kg more than controls, mostly fat, with muscle largely preserved; fitness, blood pressure and reported well-being also improved [1][2][3]. Lead investigators Kaberi Dasgupta and Thomas Yates.

Limits and caveats

  • 6 months only. Durability of remission and weight loss outside a trial is unknown [1][2].
  • Side effects. Early LED effects (constipation, headache, dizziness, fatigue) were common; no serious adverse events reported [3].
  • Not medical advice. Ask a doctor before any very low-calorie diet.

Watch the Short

YouTube X Facebook Instagram TikTok

Why it matters

Early-onset type 2 diabetes is aggressive and rising. Showing high remission rates with diet plus supervised exercise — while protecting muscle — strengthens the case for lifestyle-first options in under-45s, with medical oversight.

Full narration (transcript)

In the RESET trial, fifty-four percent of adults under forty-five put type two diabetes into remission in six months — versus four percent on usual care. An eight-hundred to nine-hundred calorie diet plus supervised exercise, led by Leicester and McGill researchers. Remission meant HbA1c below six-point-five percent, off glucose-lowering drugs for at least twelve weeks. Everyone who lost ten percent of their body weight remitted — fourteen of fourteen people. Ninety-six adults aged eighteen to forty-five with obesity; published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas. Muscle was largely preserved with resistance training — fat fell more than in usual care. Caveat: follow-up was only six months. Longer real-world studies are still needed. Not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before any very low-calorie diet. Follow the link to the main website for much deeper information.

Sources

  1. [1] ScienceDaily (30 Oct 2026). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261029072129.htm
  2. [2] MUHC news. Half of young adults with type 2 diabetes reach remission through diet and exercise. https://muhc.ca/news-and-patient-stories/news/half-young-adults-type-2-diabetes-reach-remission-through-diet-and
  3. [3] Dasgupta K, Yates T et al. Low energy diet plus supervised exercise vs. usual care alone in people with early-onset type 2 diabetes (RESET for Remission). The Lancet Regional Health – Americas. 2026;101664. doi:10.1016/j.lana.2026.101664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2026.101664

Credits

Images via Wikimedia Commons (illustrative unless stated): Blausen 0309 Diabetes Type2.png (BruceBlaus, CC BY 3.0); Attractive man lifting dumbbell weight for exercise in fitness gym.jpg (Nenad Stojkovic, CC BY 2.0); Blausen 0301 Diabetes GlucoseMonitoring.png (BruceBlaus. When using this image in external sources it can be cited as: Blausen.com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of, CC BY 3.0); Device to check for diabetes 2.jpg (Tomwsulcer, CC0); Liat Portal for Foodie Disorder - Healthy low-fat chicken, rice, broccoli, and sweet potato plate.jpg (HaJunkiyada, CC BY-SA 4.0); Silhouette of man running past trees.jpg ( bigwavephoto, CC BY-SA 4.0); Doctor working in her office while using a computer and taking notes during a consultation with a patient.jpg (Shixart1985, CC BY 2.0). On-screen graphics: own.

AI voice note: the narration in the Short is an AI clone of my own voice (Chatterbox TTS by Resemble AI, MIT licence), used with my consent. I wrote the script and checked the figures against the sources above.

This page is general information, not medical or dental advice. Please talk to a doctor, dentist or pharmacist about your own health.