Month: November 2024

TDMR Europe welcomes World Diabetes Day (WDD) 2024. Launched in 1991 by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and becoming an official United Nations Day in 2006, WDD is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign, taking place annually on 14^th November. This year’s WDD theme is “Diabetes and well-being” stressing that “with appropriate access to diabetes care and support for their well-being, everyone with diabetes has the chance to live well”.

According to WHO, diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in the WHO European Region. In fact, it is estimated that 1 in 10 people living in the Region will have diabetes by 2045. Data from the European Commission show that over 33 million people in the EU suffer from diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for more than 90% of all cases of diabetes.

The Commission has stressed that overweight and obesity are among the major risk factors for diabetes and notes that prevention and early and appropriate interventions are indispensable measures to reduce the prevalence and complications of diabetes. According to the Commission, over €1,25 billion have been devoted to support research and innovation on diabetes and related factors, including obesity.

Last month, a manifesto launched by TDMR Europe for the EU’s term 2024 – 2029 emphasises that current obesity policies in Europe place the focus primarily on prevention through healthy eating and exercise, with little consideration towards those who already have obesity or overweight and who are struggling to manage their weight. Moreover, despite EU policy makers’ interest in addressing diabetes and obesity based on relevant research, scientific evidence showing the effectiveness of total diet replacement (TDR) has been overlooked.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the channel, the English National Health Service (NHS) is running a successful diet programme with TDR helping thousands of people with obesity and T2DM lose weight and improve their health. The type 2 diabetes pathway to remission programme, formerly known as the ‘soups and shakes diet’, was based on the DROPLET and DiRECT trials. These ground-breaking studies have shown that not only is weight loss with TDR an efficient measure to tackle obesity, prevent and improve T2DM but also using this product is a cost-effective way to address these conditions. Research from Imperial College London on the pilots of the NHS TDR programme and a study from the Leeds Beckett University evaluating the qualitative aspects of the ‘soups and shakes diet’ support the conclusions of the DROPLET and DiRECT trials and demonstrate the effectiveness of TDR in primary care.

As the EU has entered a new policy cycle – following the European elections and with a new European Commission expected to be fully operational in the following weeks – it is crucial to raise awareness of the ever-increasing obesity and T2DM rates and the need to address these challenges, considering all options available, including formula diet products. Businesses in the sector need to work together to ensure these issues will be on the new policy makers’ agenda for the next five years. As the voice of the industry, following the launch of its manifesto, TDMR Europe will be implementing targeted public affairs campaigns and will be working closely with decision makers in Europe. Slimming food businesses interested in finding out more can get in touch at secretariat@tdmr-europe.com

More information on TDMR Europe can be found here.

You can find out more about the latest research on TDR here and here.

Watch our educational webinars here

 

Aris Myriskos

TDMR Europe Secretariat

Press and Media Relations Office

Last month, TDMR Europe published its Manifesto for the EU’s political term 2024 – 2029. The Manifesto called for a unified EU approach to combat obesity, emphasising the role of total diet and meal replacement products (TDRs and MPRs) as cost-effective, evidence-based solutions for weight loss and maintenance.

Our initiative also emphasised that public health services have started to acknowledge the role of TDRs and MRPs in managing obesity and improving related diseases. For example, the English National Health Service (NHS) introduced a low-calorie diet programme with TDR, to help thousands of people who have obesity and who are living with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) lose weight and achieve T2DM remission.

This year’s UK Obesity Congress featured presentations that demonstrated the effectiveness of the NHS TDR programme and discussed new studies on the product. Researchers from the University of Oxford showed that the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Pathway to Remission programme can be safely implemented without additional screening, as “there was no evidence that TDR increases disordered eating and its impairment compared to usual care in the short term, and in fact, showed significant improvement”.

The UK Obesity Congress also featured a presentation on the Re:Mission study, a three-year research which evaluated the qualitative aspects of the NHS TDR programme. The presentation showed that, at 12 weeks, experiences were largely positive with TDR having provided control with eating behaviours which contributed to weight loss and improved glycaemic control. Also, at 12 months, many participants reported improvements in psychosocial and physical functioning, and continued use of MRP and TDR products as a weight maintenance mechanism was evident.

At the event researchers also shared promising results for the the use of low-energy diet with TDR in adults with obesity and compensated cirrhosis due to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (CC-MASLD). This was an important study as it is estimated that there are 150,000 people living with CC-MASLD in the UK. Currently there are no licensed treatments, and this trial addressed questions about the use of TDR  in this population. The trial presented at the UK Obesity Congress, showed that participants in the dietary energy restriction group saw reductions in weight, liver fibro-inflammation, and steatosis, and no serious adverse events or changes in physical performance. As a recent publication on the UK Obesity Congress explains, “the preliminary findings of this trial suggest that dietary energy restriction may be safe and help to delay disease progression in this population”.

The oral sessions at the conference also included presentations on “Using Total Diet Replacement, from bench to bedside”. Researchers from the University of Glasgow presented results from the ReDIRECT study, which assessed whether home-delivered weight management with TDR could improve long COVID symptoms in people living with excess weight. In this trial, mean weight change in the intervention group was -10.3 kg at 6 months, compared to -0.7 kg in the control group. Symptoms changed in the intervention group participants with reduced included fatigue, breathlessness, anxiety and depression. The intervention also improved blood pressure and health-related quality of life, with no excess of adverse events.

As obesity rates continue to soar across Europe and policymakers are looking at addressing this challenge, raising awareness of the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of formula diet foods in tackling the condition and improving comorbidities is key to ensure that the products will be part of the solution.

TDMR Europe works to help stakeholders develop a better understanding of slimming foods and aims to increase awareness of the research on the products. Businesses and organisations in the sector interested in finding out more can reach out to TDMR Europe at secretariat@tdmr-europe.com. More information on TDMR Europe can be found here.

Here you can watch our educational webinars.

Here you can find a list of references to studies on TDRs and MPRs.

Aris Myriskos

TDMR Europe Secretariat

Press and Media Relations office