The NHS recently announced thousands of people will get access to the ‘soup and shake diet’ which will see an average of two stone lost in just three months. However, TV’s weight loss expert Steve Miller has criticised the initaitve and said it is not the way to lose weight. Instead, people should be taking “responsibility to eat less, eat better and move more”.
More than 2,000 people took part in a trial programme which saw those with type 2 diabetes put into remission after loosing weight.
Diabetes is estimated to cost the NHS £10billion a year, while almost one in 20 prescriptions written by GPs is for diabetes treatment.
The plan saw those who could benefit provided with “total diet replacement products”, such as shakes and soups, for three months, alongside support to increase their exercise levels.
Initially, those living in locations such as Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, and north-east London were only allowed to take part in the pilot, but now it has been rolled out UK-wide.
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Participants can also track their progress through virtual one-to-one and group sessions, and will receive digital support to help them maintain a healthy weight.
Regular exercise is also part of the programme in a bid to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Steve Miller, the man behind Fatnosis and who also presented Sky TV’s Fat Families gave his opinion on the diet.
He said: “Restricted diets are the last thing you encourage obese people to undertake if your goal is to reduce their fat-ness for the long term.
“Not only that, but it is an unfair tax burden on the public.
“People are financially struggling now and this initiative is money wasted.
“Rigid diets usually fail badly and I predict this will too.”
So what’s his solution? “What people need to do is own their body, and take responsibility to eat less, eat better and move more,” he explained.
Steve champions his fatnosis 80/20 meal planning system which recommends eating well for 80 percent of the time and eating a bit of what you fancy for the remaining 20 percent.
The diet expert added: “We are sending the message that other people will lose the weight for you by offering these initiatives.
“We would all be much better off it we made obesity a matter of personal responsibility and not hand the job over to [the Government or NHS] to stop people being lazy minded.”
According to the official NHS website: “The expansion of the NHS low calorie diet programme follows the launch of the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme in July, which is freely available for all adults living with obesity, who also have a diagnosis of diabetes, high blood pressure, or both, to help manage their weight and improve their health. This 12 week programme is available through referral from General Practices and Community Pharmacies.
“The NHS Low Calorie Diet programme may be suitable for some adults aged 18-65 years, diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the last six years and living with overweight or obesity who also meet other eligibility criteria.”