Can Type 2 Diabetes Go Into Remission? New Study Offers Encouraging Results

For years, type 2 diabetes was often described as a condition that could be managed but would inevitably progress over time. Research is increasingly showing that the story may be more complicated — and, for some people, much more encouraging.

A new study found that more than half of younger adults with early-onset type 2 diabetes who participated in an intensive diet-and-exercise program achieved diabetes remission after six months.

That’s a pretty significant finding.

The research, called the RESET for Remission trial, involved 96 adults between the ages of 18 and 45 who had type 2 diabetes and obesity and were not using insulin. Researchers from McGill University, the University of Leicester and the University of Alberta conducted the study at centers in Canada and England.

What Did the Participants Do?

Researchers divided participants into two groups. One group continued with usual diabetes care. The other followed a highly structured program combining a very low-calorie diet with aerobic and resistance exercise.

For the first 12 weeks, participants in the intervention group consumed approximately 800 to 900 calories per day. The first two weeks consisted entirely of meal-replacement products, followed by a gradual introduction of some regular foods.

They also exercised three times a week — with two supervised sessions that included both aerobic and resistance training and one independent exercise session.

During weeks 13 through 24, participants transitioned to a weight-maintenance diet and continued exercising more independently.

The Results Were Striking

After 24 weeks, 54% of the people in the diet-and-exercise group had achieved type 2 diabetes remission.

In comparison, just 4% of those receiving usual care achieved remission.

The intervention group also lost an average of about 18.5 pounds, compared with approximately 2.6 pounds in the usual-care group. Much of the additional weight lost was body fat.

One particularly interesting part of the study involved muscle.

Rapid weight loss can sometimes result in the loss of both fat and muscle. Because the participants also performed resistance exercise, researchers found that they were able to preserve much of their muscle mass while losing substantial amounts of fat.

What Does “Diabetes Remission” Actually Mean?

This is an important distinction: remission does not mean that type 2 diabetes has been permanently cured.

An international expert group convened by the American Diabetes Association has recommended using the term “remission” when a person's HbA1c remains below 6.5% for at least three months without the use of glucose-lowering medication.

That is essentially the standard researchers used in this study. Participants were considered in remission if their HbA1c was below 6.5% at 24 weeks and they had not used glucose-lowering medications for at least 12 weeks.

Why This Study Matters

The researchers specifically focused on early-onset type 2 diabetes because developing the condition at a younger age can mean living with diabetes for many decades.

Research has found that early-onset type 2 diabetes can progress more rapidly and is associated with an increased lifetime risk of complications compared with diabetes that develops later in life.

That makes finding ways to improve blood glucose — and potentially achieve remission — particularly important for younger adults.

The results also reinforce something diabetes researchers have been studying for several years: substantial weight loss, especially relatively soon after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, can sometimes lead to remission.

But this study added something else to the equation — structured exercise, including strength training — with the goal of maintaining muscle and improving overall metabolic and cardiovascular health.

Don’t Try the 800-Calorie Diet on Your Own

There’s an important caveat here.

An 800- to 900-calorie-per-day diet is extremely restrictive. The participants weren't simply handed a diet plan and sent home.

They were enrolled in a clinical trial with medical supervision, dietary support and exercise specialists. Researchers also closely monitored blood glucose and blood pressure, and medications were adjusted as part of the study protocol.

Anyone taking diabetes or blood-pressure medication should talk with their healthcare provider before making major changes to calorie intake or exercise. Significant weight loss and dietary changes can quickly affect blood glucose and blood pressure, which may change medication needs.

The Bigger Takeaway

You certainly don’t have to eat 800 calories a day to benefit from healthier eating and exercise.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that most adults with diabetes work toward at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity each week and also incorporate resistance exercise. Regular physical activity can improve blood glucose control, cardiovascular health and overall fitness.

For people living with type 2 diabetes, the encouraging message from this study is that the disease may not always follow a one-way path toward progressively worsening blood sugar.

For some people — particularly those diagnosed relatively young and relatively recently — meaningful weight loss combined with regular exercise may offer the possibility of getting blood glucose back below the diabetes range without medication.

Researchers are careful to point out that this study lasted only 24 weeks. We still need longer-term research to determine how many participants can maintain their weight loss and remain in remission for years rather than months.

Still, having more than half of the intervention group reach remission is a promising result — and another reason to continue studying just how powerful lifestyle changes can be as part of type 2 diabetes care.

Sources:

Healthline. Nancy Schimelpfening, MS. “Low-Energy Diet Plus Structured Exercise Reverses Early Onset Diabetes.” October 1, 2026.

European Association for the Study of Diabetes. “Study shows low energy diet combined with structured exercise reverses early onset type 2 diabetes in half of participants.”

September 30, 2026. Study findings published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.

Dasgupta K, Boulé N, Henson J, et al. “Remission of type 2 diabetes and improved diastolic function by combining structured exercise with meal replacement and food reintroduction among young adults: the RESET for REMISSION randomised controlled trial protocol.” BMJ Open. 2022;12. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063888.

Riddle MC, Cefalu WT, Evans PH, et al. “Consensus Report: Definition and Interpretation of Remission in Type 2 Diabetes.” Diabetes Care. 2021;44(10):2438–2444. DOI: 10.2337/dci21-0034.

American Diabetes Association. “Facilitating Positive Health Behaviors and Well-being to Improve Health Outcomes: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026.” Diabetes Care. 2026.