The Scottish government has announced £4.5 million in funding for a digital weight management programme for patients recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Patients will be recruited from January 2026, with money invested over three years to support 3,000 people across the country.
Neil Gray, cabinet secretary for health, said: “In January the First Minister laid out our vision for Scotland’s NHS with digital innovation being a crucial part of our plans to reform health services.
“So I am pleased to announce funding for these projects which demonstrate the transformative potential of scientific and technological innovation to improve health and social care.”
The project is anticipated to help around 40% of patients achieve remission within the first year of the programme, with an expected average weight loss of 10% body weight, as well as a reduction in blood pressure.
In the first 12 weeks of joining the programme patients will follow a diet food replacement programme allowing them around 900 calories a day.
They will also receive online support from dieticians and health and wellbeing coaches to help them stick to healthy changes.
The project is led by the national Centre for Sustainable Delivery at NHS Golden Jubilee in collaboration with NHS National Services Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Public Health Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland.
Professor Mike Lean, clinical senior research fellow/honorary consultant (medicine), University of Glasgow said: “Providing a proven pathway to remission for 3,000 people, using a digital programme to people in their own homes, is a very significant step forward, and a statement of intent from the Scottish government.
“It will also amplify the message widely to other patients and their families, that this condition can be put into remission with weight loss.
“Human appetite is a very powerful, genetically-driven, force, so many people are not successful without extra support.
“This professionally-supported diet programme will allow people in Scotland who most need help to be successful”
The funding for the digital weight management programme forms part of a larger £6 million investment as part of the Accelerated National Innovations Adoption (ANIA) programme aiming to help people with type 2 diabetes, stroke patients and babies born with a rare genetic condition which could affect their hearing.
One of the first innovations to be approved for national rollout through the ANIA Pathway, was the digital dermatology pathway, which rolled out in November 2024, using technology from Consultant Connect to support faster diagnosis and assessment of skin conditions via s a mobile phone app.
Meanwhile, in February 2025, Public Health Wales appointed Healthia to lead the ‘Digital diabetes discovery’ project, which aims to boost the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes.