Meal replacement-based diet beneficial to T2D patients

A dietary pattern based on meal replacement (MR), compared with conventional diabetic diets (CDs), brings about improvements in glycaemic control and adipose indicators in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a study.

The databases of PubMed, Central, Embase, Web of Science, and the clinical trial registration were searched through March 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effect and safety of MR in T2D patients in comparison with CDs for at least 2 weeks were included in the meta-analysis.

Seventeen RCTs including a total of 2,112 participants met the eligibility criteria. MR, compared with CD, resulted in a significant decrease in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c; mean difference, ‒0.46 percent; p<0.001), fasting blood glucose (FBG, ‒0.62 mmol/L; p<0.001), body weight (‒2.43 kg; p<0.001), and body mass index (BMI, ‒0.65; p<0.001), as well as improvements in other cardiometabolic risk factors.

Subgroup analyses revealed greater improvements with total MR vs partial MR in HbA1c (‒0.72 percent vs ‒0.32 percent; p=0.01), FBG (‒1.45 vs ‒0.56 mmol/L; p=0.02), body weight, (‒6.57 vs ‒1.58 kg; p<0.001), and BMI (‒2.78 vs ‒0.37; p<0.001).

In addition, MR with caloric restriction resulted in greater reduction in body weight (‒3.20 vs ‒0.75 kg; p<0.001) and BMI (‒0.84 vs ‒0.24; p=0.003) relative to MR without caloric restriction. The benefits derived from MR were similar in studies of patients using insulin and those who did not. Finally, both partial and total MR had good tolerability.

“Appropriate calorie restriction and total MR might be more beneficial, while both patients treated with or without insulin treatment could similarly benefit from MR usage,” the investigators said.