• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

why is it always assumed type 1 diabetics are overweight

S

samick

Newbie
Messages
4
I have type 1 diabetes and was diagnosed in 2009. A virus destroyed my pancreas. I have never been overweight so nobody who knew me guessed I had it and the amount of doctors etc that express surprise when I would tell them. I have since countered the problem and had a tattoo with the emergency ensignia and diabetic type 1 written below my vien on the inside of my arm so if I do go into a coma it is a quick way for emergency personel to see I have this condition. The amount of people who comment though say ' you don't look diabetic because your not fat' when they see the tattoo. Why is there this misconception about it?
 
You have started a very sensitive subject here. I agree there are many who are not overweight. I still think the majority are though. Saying that, the general population as a whole is getting bigger, diabetes or not. There will be many that will now post saying how slim and athletic they are, and that's great. Please understand I am only saying the majority, not all.
Another problem is the media. Diabetes always gets bad press. We are seen as self-inflicted drains on the NHS. So frustrating. I am unsure as to the answer. The Diabetes Charity is pretty cash poor. TV commercials cost a lot of money. The best we can do is try and get people like yourself to educate Joe Public whenever the chance arises !


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Hi mo, I'm a bit confused here :? sorry. quote' I agree there are many who are overweight. I still think the majority are though' unquote

Type 1's? must be a bit of a mix up, or am I reading it incorrectly maybe?

RRB
 
Hi. The majority of diabetics are Type 2 and many of those will be overweight and insulin resistant. As the majority, these T2s will define how the population views a diabetic. I've never been overweight so, like you, don't fit the expected pattern.
 
@RRB, probably just poor English on my behalf. I guess I meant diabetics overall but didn't want to go down the T1 vs T2 argument.
I should have just avoided this thread as they always end in tears lol !


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Daibell said:
Hi. The majority of diabetics are Type 2 and many of those will be overweight and insulin resistant. As the majority, these T2s will define how the population views a diabetic. I've never been overweight so, like you, don't fit the expected pattern.
Click to expand...

But he say's he was diagnosed in 2009 type 1????? I am confused.com :? help :!:

RRB
 
 
I think the problem arises with the media and general public. I don't think the majority of people understand the different types of diabetes. Insulin dependant/resistant/LADA etc ! That's why we get the bad press I believe. That's why I answered for diabetes as a whole, not T1 or T2.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Lol ! I'm keeping my mouth shut now ! Live and learn eh Brett ! I should know better by now !



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Wittgenstein writing "philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language" applies here as much as anywhere, I believe.

And one can learn something from every case!

Like, one can learn to be careful in what one writes.

There was a programme on the telly last night, supposedly about diabetes. But in fact, it was entirely about type 2 diabetes. And nothing was mentioned about the different types.
 
Mo and brett thanks for your replies. In my defence :wink: my daughter wanted to see what I looked like with mascara on ( as I never wear it) and it feels as thought my eyelashes have scaffolding fixed to them, I thought this could be interfering with my eyesight, especially the dodgy eye.

Best wishes RRB
 

No, your eyesight is fine ! This is my last post on this thread for fear of damage to health ! I could perhaps disguise myself with tonnes of mascara lol ;-0

Thanks RRB
 


Just ignore any misconceptions or negative comments Samick, I've been asked in my early years of diabetes if I was partial to too much sugar on my cereal :crazy:

Not a fan of tattoos but can see the benefit when it comes to alerting the emergency services :thumbup:
 
Mo actually wrote: "many who are NOT overweight"
 

Yes dave, Mo did write that quote, ( but it seems I have omitted to write 'not' mistakenly). As he has stated, it is a very sensitive subject.

Best wishes RRB
 
I didn't see that one myself. (In my previous post, I had Mo in mind.)

One has to be careful in one's reading, too!

These things can get nightmarishly complex.
 
Sadly the media fail to do their bit in educating Joe Public. Most articles focus on Type II where weight in initially a factor in 80% of diagnoses. Little is written about those who do not fit that category. I find that some people can hardly contemplate that I am Type I and in my fifties. Alas we have developed a media where a "good" story is more important than fact, and that a negative one is preferable to a positive one!
 
I am an overweight Type 1 and people always assume I am a Type 2
 
It's not just the media or the public who promote this.
I was eventually diagnosed as type 2 in 1991 after four years of seeing specialists with symptoms which really should have been recognised earlier.
I was average weight and fit for my age, taking part in many aerobic sports and pastimes.
I won't bore you with specifics, but due to an abnormal reaction to Heparin, a blood thinning drug, I had the lower part of my right leg amputated just under 3 years ago. I am now in a wheelchair.
Since then, I have lost track of the health professionals including specialists who assume that this is due to my diabetes and make it very clear by disapproving looks, head shaking etc that everything that has happened to me is entirely my own fault, some even saying so directly !
I am sure that I am not the only one to have encountered this
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…