I find it really sad to read of fellow type 2s who criticise themselves for being fat couch potatoes and 'causing' their condition.
Especially when they promote that idea on a forum like this.
Even if a person lives a couch potato lifestyle, it is not inevitable that they become type 2.
There are many more obese people who don't have diabetics than who do.
So even if being fat is a contributing factor, it is not the cause.
Add in the fact that type 1s put on weight when using excess insulin
Plus that insulin excess is a classic feature of type 2 (even slim type 2s)
Plus that insulin excess/resistance can predate developing diabetes by decades
How can people claim it was a couch potato lifestyle that caused type 2, when insulin excess/resistance causes all the factors (lethargy, 'greed', lack of energy) that result in a couch potato lifestyle?
It's absurd. Faulty logic. And I really object to it being promoted on this forum.
I'm fine about people saying 'I ate too much, put on weight, and have type 2'
I hate the way people say 'I was a lazy slob, put on weight, and have type 2'
Unless you can go back in time and do a test for insulin resistance and glucose tolerance at the point you turned into a couch potato, then you are denigrating yourself, promoting ignorance, and supporting the same bigotry that appears in the media.
As you can see, I feel strongly about this.
I have spent my entire adult life aware of judgemental glances and criticism. In all that time, the first person who ever validated my body shape was a consultant, who said that, with my contributing factors, she was surprised I wasn't bigger.
The rest of the world may kick us, but we don't have to join in.
So, people can eat too much, put on weight, develop T2 and that's ok? What is the difference between someone being lazy, not exercising, putting on weight and developing T2 then? Either way if you eat too much or if you are lazy then your lifestyle is a contributing factor.
What I think is very dangerous, as stated in my original post, is that people completely refuse to accept that individuals can be to blame for their condition. Do we say the smoker with lung cancer is to blame? A 2006 European study showed that current male smokers were 80 times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-smokers. 80 times. So if you know the risk? In the US they say you are 5 times more likely to develop T2 if you are slightly overweight and 60 times more likely if you are seriously obese. The risk is not a mystery and the rise of T2 in line with weight gain over the years is inescapable.
Whilst there are many factors at play nothing will ever get solved by ignoring the issue. Yes, people are overweight for a vast number of reasons and if you consider poverty, education, disability, mental health, processed and refined foods as a starting point then you can start to apportion blame. The Government and large corporations will be at the head of the queue. But when you consider our modern lifestyle and the amount of physical activity that has been removed from our daily routine by cars, tractors, supermarkets, washing machines etc and the ease of access to junk food then you encounter another aspect. Personal choice. We are all pretty well educated into the virtues of eating healthily and exercise. Some people, however, do neither and become overweight.
I think it’s worth remembering how many people on this forum also attribute their current good health to getting a wake-up call through diagnosis of T2. If one message (amongst the many) that this forum passes on is that “you can be to blame if you ignore the risks” then why should it not be out there?