Until now, lifestyle treatment was only reimbursed from the basic package for a select group.
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common and impactful chronic diseases in the world. The standard treatment is blood sugar lowering medication. This does not address the main underlying causes, obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle. Reverse Diabetes2 Om does that. The treatment was developed by the Nutrition Leeft foundation and is aimed at sustainable lifestyle adjustment and behavioral change. This is the first time that a lifestyle alternative to regular treatment is reimbursed on a large scale.
GLI
To date, type 2 diabetes has mainly been treated with blood sugar-lowering medications, such as metformin and insulin. “Because this does not address the main underlying problem, an unhealthy lifestyle, more medication is often needed in the long run. This is not a sustainable solution. It is an approach to an unhealthy lifestyle.” says Barbara Kerstens, director at Voeding Leeft. The foundation developed the RIVM-recognized ‘Reverse Diabetes2 Reversal’ lifestyle program that focuses on prediabetes and diabetes patients.
Less medication
Scientific research shows that lifestyle plays an important role in both the development and progression of type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle adjustments can reduce the amount of medication required or even make medication unnecessary. The program substantiates this: 67 percent of participants took less diabetes medication two years after starting the program and 28 percent stopped completely.
