The NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme is a free service for people aged 18 to 65 who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the last six years.
The service has been commissioned by NHS England and is being delivered by Xyla Health and Wellbeing who are providing the digitally led 12-month programme being piloted in West Yorkshire. It follows two large studies (Direct and Droplet) which showed that low calorie diet treatment for people living with type 2 diabetes who were overweight could improve their diabetes control, reduce diabetes-related medication and even achieve remission.
Those eligible for the service must have a BMI of 27kg/m2 or higher. This figure has been adjusted to 25kg/m2 for people with minority ethnic heritage because there is strong evidence that at any given BMI, health risks are markedly higher in some ethnic groups than others.
Patients on the programme are given a 12-week supply of low calorie shakes and soups to replace all their meals. After the 12 weeks, other foods that promote a healthy eating lifestyle are reintroduced whilst at the same time encouraging physical activity.
West Yorkshire is one of 11 sites in England chosen to pilot the service for two years from March 2022, with 500 places available. Referrals to the service are made by GPs who are working to identify eligible patients. It is important that all patients who are referred must be engaged and committed to taking part in the programme.
To support our busy GPs with this work, the Partnership’s Diabetes Programme, including the programme’s clinical lead Dr Waqas Tahir, ran three training session in March and April 2022.
The sessions were developed to clarify eligibility criteria, explain the referral process, and give attendees the opportunity to ask questions. All sessions have been recorded so that any GPs who were unable to attend a session could still access the training. Those who did attend are also able to access the recording if helpful as a refresher.
The links to the training session recordings, and further details about the NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme, have been put together into a resource pack that is supporting GPs to make appropriate referrals to the service which could prove to be life changing.
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