Like many other health conditions, there’s a lot of stigma out there about type 2 diabetes. In order to better manage your condition, it’s important to separate fact from fiction.
Stigma around diabetes is often based on assumptions and misinformation, and battling this can help encourage more conversations about diabetes. We get behind the myths and find out the truth behind the tales.
1. Only overweight people have type 2 diabetes.
There’s a common misconception that if you’re at a healthy weight or underweight, you can’t have diabetes. While there’s a correlation, in reality it’s a lot more complicated than that. There are lots of people with diabetes who are at a healthy weight - as much as 10 to 15% of people living with the condition. This is often called ‘lean diabetes.’ There are a few risk factors like smoking cigarettes, not doing much excercise or being ‘skinny-fat’ - this means having low muscle mass but being at a healthy weight.
2. People with diabetes can't each any sugar.
People with diabetes should eat a healthy balanced diet, that's low in fat, sugar and salt. This doesn't mean that someone with diabetes should have a totally sugar free diet though - you can still enjoy a wide variety of foods, some that have sugar in them.
3. You should only eat food that's labelled as ‘suitable for diabetics’.
Not only is this not true, it’s been illegal since 2016 in the UK!
Even when labelling a food as 'suitable for diabetics' was allowed, it never really meant much. These foods still increased blood sugar levels, were expensive and also could cause problems like diarrhoea.
4. Only overweight people have type 2 diabetes.
There’s a common misconception that if you’re at a healthy weight or underweight, you can’t have diabetes. While there’s a correlation, in reality it’s a lot more complicated than that. There are lots of people with diabetes who are at a healthy weight - as much as 10 to 15% of people living with the condition. This is often called ‘lean diabetes.’ There are a few risk factors like smoking cigarettes, not doing much exercise or being ‘skinny-fat’ - this means having low muscle mass but being at a healthy weight.
5. People with diabetes shouldn't drive.
There’s absolutely no reason why people with properly controlled diabetes can’t drive safely.
If you’re at risk of having a hypos while driving or have complications from your diabetes, there are some precautions you'll need to take. The general rule is, if you’re at 5mmo/l, you’re OK to drive.
Retinopathy and neuropathy can also affect your ability to drive. If you suffer from either of these conditions severely, you need to let the DVLA know.
6. People with diabetes can't play sport.
Living with diabetes is challenging. It can make you feel tired and lethargic, and make it hard to stay as active as you want to be. But exercise has numerous benefits if you have diabetes like:
- helping insulin work better in your body
- burn calories to help you lose or stay at a healthy weight
- reduce your risk of developing complications
- boost your self-esteem
- reduce your risk of heart disease
If you're going to start a new exercise routine it's always good to chat to your doctor first incase there's any considerations you'd need to take into account.
7. If you need to start taking insulin you’re not managing your type 2 diabetes properly.
Everyone with type 1, and some people with type 2 diabetes need to take insulin.
If you have type 2 diabetes and start taking insulin, it doesn’t mean you aren’t managing your diabetes properly. It’s just another way of managing your diabetes like taking medications. Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition, and therefore having to inject insulin shouldn’t be seen as a failure.
8. If you have diabetes, you're more likely to get flu or pneumonia
Having diabetes doesn't mean you're more likely to get colds, the flu or pneumonia.
However, having diabetes can affect your bodies ability to recover from an illness. If you have diabetes you're entitled to a free flu jab from the NHS, which we'd recommend as a good precaution.