REPLACING regular meals with a diet of soups, shakes and bars, could provide a cost-effective treatment for obesity on the NHS, say Oxford scientists.

The new research carried out at Oxford University found that for every 100,000 people referred to a 'total diet replacement’ (TDR) programme, 50 coronary heart disease events, 75 strokes, 900 cases of type 2 diabetes, and 25 cancers could be avoided.

As a result, people are expected to live longer and in better health, with lower use and costs of healthcare services.

Dr Seamus Kent, at the University's Nuffield Department of Population Health said: "Studies like ours, which provide reliable estimates of the long-term impacts of weight management programmes on patients’ health and healthcare costs, are of real importance to enable the NHS to select the most clinically and cost-effective services for their patients,”

The NHS recently announced a pilot programme to offer a TDR programme to around 5,000 people with type 2 diabetes and has also committed to offering weight loss support for people with hypertension who are also obese.

More than half of adults in the county are now overweight or obese and while the obesity rate in Oxfordshire is lower than the national average, the associated risks such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, are placing a heavy burden on the county’s health services.

Nationally the problem is estimated to cost the NHS £6bn per year.