A recent study suggests the 5:2 diet, popularized by TV diet guru Dr. Michael Mosley, who recently died, yields better results for type 2 diabetes patients than common medications. Dr. Mosley, who passed away earlier this month in Agia Marina, Crete, was known for his weight-loss plan, which involves fasting for two days a week and consuming a balanced diet the other five days. Politicians like George Osborne and Rishi Sunak, as well as celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Chris Pratt, have adopted this diet since its rise to prominence in the early 2010s.
Researchers at Beijing Hospital conducted a clinical trial involving over 400 overweight and obese adults with type 2 diabetes. Participants were divided into three groups: one received metformin, another received empagliflozin, and the third followed the 5:2 diet. Those in the 5:2 group consumed a low-energy meal replacement on fasting days, with 500 calories for women and 600 for men, and monitored their calorie intake.
After 16 weeks, the 5:2 group achieved better blood glucose levels and more significant weight loss (9.7 kg) compared to the metformin group (5.5 kg) and empagliflozin group (5.8 kg). The findings were published in JAMA Network Open. Dr. Mosley, who also successfully reversed his type 2 diabetes with the diet, introduced the concept in his 2013 book "The Fast Diet."