The NHS recently announced that thousands of people will have access to the ‘soup and shake diet’ which will see them lose an average of two stones in just three months. However, the television weight loss expert steve miller has criticized the initiative and has said that it is not the way to lose weight. Instead, people should take “responsibility to eat less, eat better, and move more.”
More than 2,000 people participated in a trial program in which people with type 2 diabetes went into remission after losing weight.
Diabetes is estimated to cost the NHS £10 billion a year, while nearly one in 20 prescriptions written by GPs is for diabetes treatment.
The plan saw those who could benefit from “total diet replacement products” such as shakes and soups for three months, along with support to increase their exercise levels.
Initially, those living in places like Greater Manchester, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire and North East London could only take part in the pilot, but it has now been rolled out across the UK.
READ MORE: Weight loss: Michael Mosley ‘avoid this common fruit’ for weight loss
Participants can also track their progress through individual and group virtual sessions, and will receive digital support to help them maintain a healthy weight.
Regular exercise is also part of the program in an attempt to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Steve Miller, the man behind Fatnosis and who also hosted Sky TV’s Fat Families, gave his take on the diet.
He said: “Restricted diets are the last thing obese people are encouraged to undertake if their goal is to reduce their fat in the long term.
“Not only that, but it is an unfair tax burden on the public.
“People are struggling financially right now and this initiative is money wasted.
“Crash diets fail a lot and I predict this will too.”
So what is your solution? “What people need to do is own their bodies and take responsibility for eating less, eating better and moving more,” she explained.
Steve defends his fatnosis 80/20 meal planning system which recommends eating right 80 percent of the time and eating a little of whatever you want the other 20 percent.
The diet expert added: “We are sending the message that other people will lose weight for you by offering these initiatives.
“We would all be much better off if we made obesity a matter of personal responsibility and didn’t hand over the job to [the Government or NHS] to prevent people from being lazy.”
According to the official NHS website: “The expansion of the NHS Low Calorie Diet Program follows the launch of the NHS Digital Weight Management Program in July, which is available free of charge to all adults living with obesity, who also have a diagnosis of diabetes, high blood pressure, or both, to help control their weight and improve their health. This 12-week program is available through referrals from General Practices and Community Pharmacies.
“The NHS Low Calorie Diet Program may be suitable for some adults aged 18 to 65, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the last six years and living with overweight or obesity who also meet other eligibility criteria.”
if(typeof utag_data.ads.fb_pixel!==”undefined”&&utag_data.ads.fb_pixel==!0){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);fbq(‘init’,’568781449942811′);fbq(‘track’,’PageView’)}
