My daughter believe type type 2 is Self inflicted because you are over weight I tried to explain that even slim people have the disease.
To top it all After 11 years I no longer take medication I control my life by what I eat so now she thinks I no longer have diabetes what complicated minds some people have. Type 1 can start early is that NOT self inflicted if not what is it? Please help.
For many reasons, type 2 diabetes is one of the most misunderstood disease in the medical community.
First of all, type 2 diabetes is caused by having to much DANGEROUS fat. Genetics determines how your body stores excess weight, and those that have genes that predispose them for type 2 diabetes, only need a little bit of extra fat to get pushed over into a diabetic state. I saw somebody on this thread mention that many obese people do not have diabetes, and that is true, but they have genes that protect from this disease no matter how much fat they pile on.
So in short diabetes type 2 is caused by excess weight, but how much excess weight a person can carry before they develop diabetes is highly individual and unique, some may get diabetes at a bmi of 19, others do not develop it until a bmi of 30. Some may need to lose only 4 kgs, others may have to lose 20 kg to become non-diabetic.
Genes matter very much, and that is why you have athletes that get diabetes and some morbidely obese people with perfect bloodsugar control and cholesterol. Most people do not know this, so when they see that people claim diabetes type 2 is caused by excess weight they get angry and defensive, but they should not be, it is so genetically determined, and some are just luckier than other.
However, one must still point that the most benefical thing anybody can do for their type 2 diabetes, is to lose weight.
So yeah in one way type 2 diabetes is self inflicted, but when people do not know the cause of their diabetes, when we live in this society that always pushes peoples weight in an upward direction it is difficult to lay all blame on the individual.