Advert currently on TV

Hi i find the advert completely misleading and insulting it says you can avoid becoming a type 2 by losing weight and taking more excercise you may be able to delay it but not avoid eventually becoming diabetic the infer that you only get diabetes by being overweight how very disappointing for this charity to allow such missinformation to be shown bearing its name

Brunneria said:

I've just used the email address on this page to write a complaint.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/Contact_us/

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I've cancelled my Direct Debit and resigned from my local group... and currently drafting a letter to the Trustees and CEO with a host of issues about this insulting ad and their own complicity with the difficulties we face on a daily basis (not least their adherence to the 'Eat Well Plate' and a diet book that says 'buy low-GI foods and then puts a full page picture of a dish with ... WHITE RICE!!!

My ghast is well & truly flabbered!!

I'm speechless for once!
My jaw would have bounced having dropped to the floor if I hadn't lost the weight!

If I was T2 I would protest vigorously! I would e-mail how wrong this is! How did it get past advertising standards? It's telling lies!

The disease is unique to all sufferers, how can they justify that all diabetics will go blind or lose a limb? It's horrendously wrong on so many levels!

As a person who was misdiagnosed by our health practitioners and all the recent gains in understanding that it is inevitable to get diabetes if you don't eat the 'healthy eatwell plate' then we on this site have been dealt a cruel blow by the dumpkopfs in charge of diabetes uk!

In. Fact I'm going to start emailing in the morning!

My god! Another kick in the ******** for all of us!

Syd said:

I don't see anything wrong with the advertisement.

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Perhaps, @Syd , you're suffering retinopathy like me

Syd said:

Do you want Diabetes UK to show a collection of jolly fatties stuffing themselves with cream cakes while stating that because of their genetic make up they don't have T2 diabetes, followed by a group of trim, athletic type 2 diabetics exercising in the gym bemoaning the fact they have the disease despite their austere lifestyles?

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No, Syd, I want Diabetes UK to represent all people with diabetes and not to misrepresent us!

The ad is dumbed down to the point of being misleading:

1. It fails to mentioned types of diabetes other than Type 2's - and only then by muttering it on occasions
   
2. It does not stress the distinction between Type 1 or 2 or 1.5, etc.
3. It fails to highlight the symptoms that lead to the diagnosis of diabetes, including secondary diabetes,such as people who've had pancreatic cancer
   
4. In a recent BBC Breakfast slot, a professor of Endocronolgy pointed out that less than half of all cases of Type 2 were caused by obesity. Something this ad does not, whereas I've seen a DUK 'Spokesman' sit on the BBC Breakfast sofa talking about diabetes only to have the BBC presenter constantly stress "So it that Type 1 or Type 2"?
   
5. In all, this ad says a lot for a charity that has become so obsessed with Type 2 and obesity that it has utterly lost the plot as far as the rest of us are concerned - and I include all types, including T2's who aren't obese (like our local DUK group vice-Chair).

Syd said:

It also makes the point that diabetes is a serious condition. It's a short advert not a documentary.Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Indeed it does in the most cringeingly patronising and sympering manner possible; there are far better, more dynamic ways of making the same points more succinctly and accurately - particularly because even if people do respond to the ad and get their free pedometer, they're unlikely to prevent the onset of diabetes by reading DUK's own dietary advice!

So, everyone loves the new advert then?

It is a one minute advert, not a documentary series of twenty-six one hour episodes.

I get the impression that some posters have some issues with Diabetes UK and are using this advert as a stick with which to beat it.


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I honestly don't think so, @Syd. Some people are offended by the advert, not by Diabetes UK - who are only doing their best, bless them.

Syd said:

I get the impression that some posters have some issues with Diabetes UK and are using this advert as a stick with which to beat it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Not at all: DUK have done - and still do - a great deal of tremendous work of immense value; BUT their info on T2 is woefully misleading and particularly because their dietary advice is...

'confusing, contradictory and vague. I don't give it out to patients and when I'm asked by DSNs and other dieticians I don't recommend it.'
- NHS Dietician who spoke with me this month.

DUK have spent so much time 'talking up' the issue of weight and diabetes that all other causes have been consigned to the bin of general ignorance and people like me (and thousands of others) who weren't overweight when they diagnosed and/or who have never really gone overweight or exceeded their upper BMI limits are being 'branded' with the same brush.

As the "leading charity for people with diabetes", DUKs polarisation sucks as it's done no one any favours at all: it's creating a belief that diabetes (irrespective of type) is self inflicted and all we greedies should do is stop the sweets, cakes, and overindulgence and we'll all be cured in an instant - weight watchers - shake.

Pah!

They should know and behave better.

I saw the Advert for the first time the other day,I just wished they had ended on a positive note.I felt like I had been handed a death sentence when I watched it!

@ConradJ " How has Diabetes UK offended anyone by the this advert?" Is the question I am struggling with. The ad lasted one minute and as mentioned above showed three cases.

To recap:
(1). Portly chap who had lost his leg;
(2). A svelte, trim young lady who was going blind;
(3). A chap who had died and we heard from his widow.

In only ONE out of the THREE cases above is being overweight specifically attributed as cause of T2. That is case (1) above. Case (2) does not seem overweight and we did not get to hear about why or how Case (3) contracted his T2.

I just don't get what is wrong with it. As mentioned above it is a one minute ad, not a documentary series.

It's actually aimed at people who may be diabetic without knowing it and is really to promote the importance of getting tested.

It may have offended some established diabetics but if it saves some people from walking around with undiagnosed diabetes who have no idea of possible complications they may suffer then surely it has worked.

The media portrayal of us is much worse, fat. lazy, junk eating couch potatoes who can cure their diabetes by eating less and exercising more.

I was misdiagnosed as T2. I was slightly overweight and never got good dietary advice that helped me until I found this forum and then my consultant! I was branded with the stigma of many healthcare providers that my 'problem' is what I did to my body over the years. Even to the extent that one GP suggested that I get out and do some exercise. (In my work I did at least 5 miles walking). Another suggested to me because of a symptom, that I needed to eat more whole grain foods and eat no fat at all!!!

I have had my battles with dieticians and health nuts. I feel so sorry for T2s because of the real harm these 'experts' are doing!

My wife has hereditary T2. Why does she have to watch something that could make her wonder what all the effort she has put in to control her BSLs? She has said that what's the point of all the drugs and denying herself treats if she only gets a couple more horrible painful years! That's the message she got from the advert!
The whole diabetes spectrum needs a review in my opinion. It is so confusing and we are individually unique in our diagnosis & prognosis.
The message is slowly getting out there it's a pity that whoever put that advert out there is totally misguided and harmful in its delivery!

Sorry to rant!

Syd said:

@ConradJ " How has Diabetes UK offended anyone by the this advert?" Is the question I am struggling with. The ad lasted one minute and as mentioned above showed three cases.

To recap:
(1). Portly chap who had lost his leg;
(2). A svelte, trim young lady who was going blind;
(3). A chap who had died and we heard from his widow.

In only ONE out of the THREE cases above is being overweight specifically attributed as cause of T2. That is case (1) above. Case (2) does not seem overweight and we did not get to hear about why or how Case (3) contracted his T2.

I just don't get what is wrong with it. As mentioned above it is a one minute ad, not a documentary series.

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Well @Syd, it's offended me. Here's what I get from the one minute ad:

(1). Portly old man who gets diabetes and then loses his legbecause of T2 and his weight
(2). Middle-aged, BME mum, thinking she's not old enough to get diabetes (doesn't state which type,although voice over later emphasises T2)
(3). Old lady whose husband had diabetes and died before 'his time' because he didn't take care of himself.

In summary, diabetes affects fat, old people or younger BME's only, and because they got fat on their own accord and carry on with such self-destructive behaviour they (1) lose body parts, (3) die early or (2) go blind because their from the BME section of society.

Now, here's a thing for you:

(1). there are around 400,000 people in the UK with Type 1 diabetes - most of whom got it when they where under 15;
(2). 1 in 5 new diagnoses of Type 1's are in people over 40...
(3). there's more to diabetes mellitus than type 2, such as LADA. MODY, Wolfdram Syndrome and secondary diabetes.
(4). DUK calls itself 'the leading charity for people with diabetes', but where are their adverts for T1/1.5/...? I've seen posters on bus shelters, tube stations, GP surgeries, etc. etc., all talking up obesity and diabetes, but nothing about the symptoms for T1, etc.

They could have done it differently:
a) It could have been funkier, faster, hard vocals backed up with key points, such as 'diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults';
b) it could have included youngsters talking about being diagnosed and 6 or 5 or 14 or... and how they stab their fingers etc every day;
c) it could have included some famous faces:

Ad opens with Sir Steve Redgrave:
"Training for 5 Olympic gold medals was really hard work, but no where near as hard or difficult or life threatening as living with diabetes."

Dominic Littlewood walks into frame:
"You don't have to be old or fat to get diabetes - I've had it since I was 10, but...

Mel C pops up:
"if you do get diagnosed with diabetes take it seriously and take action to live a full and healthy life because it is possible."

Voice Over:
For info and support with living with diabetes, contact ...

The last set of stats that I've seen stated 400,000 insulin dependent diabetics of all types and 275,000 type 1s. With the 2.75 million type twos out there, you can see why that was what was focused on, even if it wasn't very positive.

tim2000s said:

The last set of stats that I've seen stated 400,000 insulin dependent diabetics of all types and 275,000 type 1s. With the 2.75 million type twos out there, you can see why that was what was focused on, even if it wasn't very positive.

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Ok but I think there's much more mileage in a more positive message, as in @ConradJ, than there is in a lugubrious set of shots like we're given in this advert. I'm thinking TeamBG. Why are they so positive? Lots of T2 on here who run fun runs and marathons, climb mountains, cycle for miles, walk every day, go to work and lead busy lives. Where is their attitude shown in the advert? I know it's an ad, not a documentary: that precisely is why it has to be a lot better than it is.

juliekem said:

In 2011 catherinecherub wrote an excellent post which started "I know that some Type 2's have a hard time because they think that because they are overweight that they brought this on themselves." She then gives a link to a very useful article and I quote "While type 1 diabetes is caused by an immune system that destroys insulin-making cells, type 2 is often thought of as a disease caused by too much food and too little exercise—and indeed, it can be exacerbated by those factors. This perception unfairly casts type 2 diabetes as a willpower problem.
Genes and other risk factors play a complex role in determining who gets type 2 diabetes and who doesn't. While the likelihood of having type 2 diabetes increases with age and weight, that isn't always the case. Anywhere from 10% to 20% of all people who have the disease are not overweight. What's more, many overweight people never get diabetes."
So when I saw the ad which seems to be currently being run on TV by DBUK, my blood boiled.
It implies that type 2 diabetes is simply caused by being overweight and not taking enough exercise - no other "causes" are mentioned. It appears to support all the old stereotypes - I found myself screaming (inside) at the box - how come as a dog owner for all of the 34 years I have been married that I have walked every day (come rain or shine!) I have been trying to lose weight for almost all of my marriage too, with very little success. I am only succeeding at the moment (and the weight loss is VERY slow) by cutting calories to under 1000 per day (- very difficult to keep up.)

Am I the only person to react strongly to this vile ad? Why are diabetes UK publishing this?

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If you are struggling to lose weight have you tried this lifestyle? I have lost 4 stone and have not found it difficult at all. I don't weigh anything. Everyone in our household has the same food which is varied and yummy. I cannot imagine eating any differently ever.
www.dietdoctor.com
Ref the ad, I think it's a misguided attempt to get the man off the street to realise just what a serious life threatening condition it is. When I was diagnosed with it, one of my mums friends completely dismissed it as unimportant and easily medicated. The attitudes I have come across in my job towards it have been quite surprising, especially as they are supposed to be educated people. Many people have given me lectures about lchf - or at least they did to until they have seen the weight loss and the improvements in my health!

lizdeluz said:

Ok but I think there's much more mileage in a more positive message, as in @ConradJ, than there is in a lugubrious set of shots like we're given in this advert. I'm thinking TeamBG. Why are they so positive? Lots of T2 on here who run fun runs and marathons, climb mountains, cycle for miles, walk every day, go to work and lead busy lives. Where is their attitude shown in the advert? I know it's an ad, not a documentary: that precisely is why it has to be a lot better than it is.

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Agreed. Doom and gloom are not a great way forward although I guess if they presented a load of healthy people with a medical condition then people would trivialise it. But wait! Don't they do that now?!

Scandichic said:

Agreed. Doom and gloom are not a great way forward although I guess if they presented a load of healthy people with a medical condition then people would trivialise it. But wait! Don't they do that now?!

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Well said.

My wife made a point about it yesterday; she'd noted several articles about cancer over the past year and that evidence exists to show most cancers may be lifestyle initiated yet how would it be perceived if MacMillan or Cancer Research ran publicity that showed people smoking, drinking heavily, eating McD / BK / KFC, bleaching their kitchen floors, etc., with the tag line:

"Cancer? 50/50 it's your fault."

Scandichic said:

Many people have given me lectures about lchf - or at least they did to until they have seen the weight loss and the improvements in my health!

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That's one of the hurdles of our lives: peer groups and families. I've had a long battle with my other half about going onto a LCHF diet. Yesterday evening she perused the opening section of a book she'd bought me from a charity shop, "the low carb cookbook" by M&S (2005) and will be joining me on the journey (perhaps not as strictly, but at least it's a start).

Public response to this 'ad' appears split .
Half say its too grim, doom and gloomy.
Other half say its not focussing on the positive enough .

How can one ' advert ' say both things or all things ?
In a timed zone advert kind of thing .
Am in a meeting in January 2015 to discuss this further .

Will read post replies with interest and will keep key points in mind .