Indian Study Shows Type 2 Diabetes Remission May Be Possible without Surgery or Extreme Diets

At the end of the trial, 9 out of 29 participants (31%) achieved remission—four from the intervention group and five from the control group. "With early, intensive treatment and continued support, many patients may no longer need diabetes medication. That's a powerful message of hope," said Dr Rama Walia, lead investigator of the study, adding: "Physical workout for an hour daily, including brisk walk, yoga or dance, was advised in the trial. Patients were kept on a home-based healthy diet."

Significant weight loss was also observed, with the intervention group losing a median of 4.9 kg and the control group losing 3 kg. Both fat mass and body fat percentage decreased in both arms. No baseline characteristics could reliably predict who would go into remission, although shorter diabetes duration and greater weight loss appeared to favor success.

Unlike approaches that require strict diets or expensive surgeries, the DiaRem-1 trial presents a cost-effective, scalable model for outpatient clinics. The PGI team plans further research to determine how long remission lasts and whether longer treatment can improve results.

Reference: Sudhayakumar A, Arjunan D, Bhansali S, Bhujade H, Bhadada SK, Malhotra S, Walia R. Realisation of Remission of Diabetes Using Pharmacotherapy (DiaRem-1). Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2025 Mar-Apr;29(2):217-223. doi: 10.4103/ijem.ijem_356_24. Epub 2025 Apr 29. PMID: 40416453; PMCID: PMC12101762.