EU needs obesity management policy as the condition hits record high

Posted On: 10th October 2024

Press release

10 October 2024

Sixty percent of Europeans living with overweight and obesity are being let down by the European Commission’s strategy to tackle the condition at a cost of €70 billion per year.

According to a WHO analysis obesity and overweight affect almost 60% of adults across Europe and is the cause of at least 200,000 new cancer cases annually as well as acting as gateway to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Research shows that associated healthcare costs and reductions in productivity are costing EU Member States €70 billion per year.

TDMR Europe has published a manifesto for the EU’s term 2024 – 2029. The initiative highlights that Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, EU4Health and the Farm to Fork (F2F) Strategy have primarily focussed on obesity prevention through healthy eating and exercise. TDMR Europe argues that there is no or little consideration of those who already have obesity or overweight and who are struggling to manage their weight and related problems.

While recognising that responsibility for delivery of health care is devolved to national governments, TDMR Europe is calling for the strategy to be rebalanced to include recommendations to utilise all clinically proven options for weight reduction and maintenance programmes including total diet and meal replacement products.

The Group highlights the vast amount of scientific evidence showing the effectiveness of the products, such as the EU funded ‘PREVIEW’ trial, a three-year study conducted on people with obesity and pre-diabetes in Europe and around the world. The study showed that an average of 10% weight loss with total diet replacement (TDR) followed by a low glycaemic index (GI) diet provided better weight loss maintenance than other diets and reduced the development of diabetes to below the expected level.

The manifesto also cites examples outside research settings, such as the English National Health Service (NHS) TDR programme where 27% of 710 participants with T2DM went into remission with an average weight loss of 14.8kg. Patient groups have said that the programme was easy to incorporate into their lives. In addition to weight loss and improved blood glucose levels, they had increased energy, mobility, and functional fitness, and self-esteem improved. Participants said that the diet replacement programme and products gave them a sense of control over their energy consumption that they struggled to manage with their usual conventional-food diet.

Professor Anthony Leeds, Chair of TDMR Europe, said:

“EU leaders now have a wonderful opportunity to lead national governments towards a comprehensive solution for the threat of obesity-related conditions and the suffering and high health care costs that they will cause.  Low-cost, safe, scientifically proven options to facilitate weight loss in the 60% of EU citizens who need to weigh less should be recommended. A comprehensive programme must include TDR programmes because these are proven to deliver diabetes remission and are recommended by Europe’s expert panel (the EASD).” 

“Preventive public health programmes to combat obesity must remain in place, must be rigorously evaluated and then effectively delivered, while those who have already become overweight and obese need safe, scientifically proven and cost-effective interventions.”

 

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For more information contact aristeidis.myriskos@whitehousecomms.com

Notes to editors

The TDMR Manifesto calls for:

  • Support for a more ambitious role for the EU in public health matters and continue to recognise the complexity of obesity, while ensuring a clear focus on weight management alongside prevention.
  • Issue an EU level action plan on obesity management that explores all scientifically proven weight management methods available, including the use of total diet replacements (TDRs) and meal replacement products (MRPs) for weight control.
  • Ensure a regulatory environment for TDRs and MRPs that is aligned with the latest scientific evidence.
  • Revise the current prohibition on the use of nutrition and health claims for TDRs.

About total diet and meal replacement products

Total diet replacements (TDRs) are diets composed of formula foods and replace the whole of the conventional food intake for a period of weeks to achieve optimal weight loss. Formula foods are nutritionally balanced with key vitamins, minerals, high quality protein, essential fats, and fibre, but with reduced dietary energy content. They provide controlled energy intake lower than can be achieved with a reduced intake of normal foods and have been shown to deliver sufficient weight loss to help people with type 2 diabetes go into remission and improve symptoms and health status in other obesity comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and obstructive sleep apnoea.

Meal replacement products (MRPs) are presented as a replacement for one or two meals of the daily diet. They are used alongside conventional food, as part of an energy restricted diet, to facilitate and maintain weight loss.

About EASD’s recommendation:

Evidence-based European recommendations for the dietary management of diabetes
The Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group (DNSG) of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)
Diabetologia. 2023 Jun;66(6):965-985. doi: 10.1007/s00125-023-05894-8.