I’ve often said, “Everyone knows someone with diabetes.” And the number of people with diabetes in 2012 supports this statement. There’s a lot of diabetes out there!! Yet the other day I met someone who told me she doesn’t know anyone with diabetes. I was really surprised!
I recently gave a talk to a group of business women. I was disappointed in myself for not getting to my point sooner (I only had three minutes), because I spent most of the time discussing the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Afterward, one of the women in the audience told me it was a very helpful presentation because “people like us don’t know anything about the different types of diabetes.” Then today I read a report that 92% of Americans surveyed do know there are differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Oh, the inconsistencies! But then maybe it makes sense that people know there are differences, but don’t know what those differences are.
So then I had to ask myself, is it really important for the general public to know the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes? Maybe the most important thing is for people to have a basic idea of what diabetes is, so they can at least be a little bit prepared should it ever become an issue with someone close to them. Also, as this same report showed, it’s important for people to know that type 2 is sometimes preventable. With that information we can actually do something!
Another time more on the differences between types of diabetes.