Our worldview influences the people we choose to be, and having interesting experiences together can improve the way we treat one another. This is an effective point of view.
A colleague joked across the cubicle wall, “I got diabetes because I just ate so many cupcakes.” A second group of colleagues burst out laughing.
I winced with embarrassment, even though the joke seemed innocuous to them. As someone with type 2 diabetes who must interact with this group of people virtually daily, I couldn’t help but feel crushed by this so-called joke. They say the best humor doesn’t punch down.
For thirty million Americans, diabetes management is a serious matter. Learning how to take medication, inject insulin, poke yourself with a needle, and practice adaptive eating are everyday realities.
Despite the fact that diabetes is a genetically determined illness and that you are not likely to be the first in your family to develop it, the persistent stigma that diabetes is caused by diet still exists.
However, by oversimplifying this complicated illness, we continue to spread the myth that someone should deserve diabetes.
I saw my doctor over three years ago to receive motion sickness patches for a cruise. Just one day before my cruise was scheduled to depart, my doctor surprised me by calling me back after I had a full physical so that my insurance would pay for the visit.
He informed me that I had diabetes at that point. I questioned a lot, asking “Are you sure?” and “What caused this?” first.
Read Also: Diabetes and Gangrene: Understand the Facts
As my questions swiftly devolved into a game of self-blame, my doctor made a statement that altered my perspective on my diagnosis.
“For you, the question was not if you would get diabetes, but rather when,” he remarked.
I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of close relatives, both living and deceased, who have diabetes. This is one of the reasons that the majority of doctor intake forms ask about family medical history.
In order to comprehend this natural predisposition and put an end to the blame game permanently, Dr. Linda Bacon and Judith Matz, LCSW, offer insight in their 2010 article “Intuitive Eating: Enjoy Your Food, Respect Your Body.”
Bacon and Matz state that “genes play a large role in the development of diabetes.” “This is one of the challenges you were dealt, and we’re all born with challenges in our genetic codes — as well as in our life circumstances.”
They go on, “Your body was vulnerable.” “That genetic predisposition was triggered by a combination of factors, including difficulty regulating glucose.”
Numerous things, like as persistent stress, which nobody seems to focus on nearly as much as they do cupcakes, can add stress to a genetic propensity like this, but the sensitivity itself is genetic and completely out of our control.
In this way, sugar consumption does not lead to diabetes. If it were the case, diabetes would affect every person who has a sweet craving.
Unknown to many, genetics has a far greater influence on diabetes than genetics alone. However, if we ignore this, a sickness that deserves compassion becomes a “punishment” meted out to those who made “bad choices.”
several falsehoods regarding diabetes are spread by the notion of causation when it may only be an association or a single component among several.
I have a self-described salt tooth, but I never felt the need for sweets. I would still go on to acquire diabetes, though, and people would continue to assume untrue things about my diet and physical appearance.
For this reason, making jokes about getting diabetes when consuming sweets as someone who does not have the disease causes more harm than benefit.
It is not safe to joke that eating one cupcake will cause diabetes on two counts: It disseminates false information about this illness and reinforces the stereotype that developing diabetes is something one can control.
Additionally, this joke gives food a morality that may be detrimental to people who suffer from eating disorders.
Setting food in a hierarchy of worth helps promote diet restrictions.
Saying that consuming sweets causes diabetes contributes to the notion that food has inherent “good” or “bad” qualities and that overindulging in food will result in illness. I can relate to this because I’m a plus-sized person who struggles with eating disorders and diabetes.
The National Eating Disorder Association claims that there is a connection between diabetes and the depressive mood that is linked to eating disorders. I also check the box for the increased risk of clinical depression associated with diabetes.
“A study of adolescents from Norway revealed that, in addition to age, negative attitude toward diabetes and negative beliefs about insulin had the highest association with insulin restriction and eating disorder behavior,” the National Eating Disorder link continues.
Put another way, disordered eating, which is motivated by a fear of being overweight, may be an attempt to prevent diabetes if being “fat” is linked to the disease. And in that way, we are all affected by the stigma and false information surrounding diabetes.
However, two terms that jump out to me in this context are “attitude” and “belief.” Personal agency is involved in attitudes and beliefs, in contrast to hereditary tendency. Over time, attitudes and beliefs can shift.
And this is precisely the venue where people without diabetes may cease attempting to be funny people and instead become allies.
I challenge people who are not diabetics to reconsider how they think and speak about diabetes, instead of adding to the stigma with jokes. Take advantage of any jokes you hear about getting diabetes to spread awareness.
Why is diabetes seen so funny when it’s not a joke, like cancer? I take it that there are genetic and environmental variables involved in both of them? The distinction lies in our preconceived notions of the disease’s face.
The elderly and those with larger frames are the ones who society views as less respectable when it comes to diabetes. When you think about it, your joke is actually just ageism and fatphobia with a thin veneer of humor.
I wouldn’t expect someone to comprehend what it’s like to have diabetes if they don’t live with it on a daily basis.
But I would expect everyone to be treated with the respect they deserve.
Despite being close to my grandparents who had diabetes, I never saw it that way until it became my own reality.
Despite having diabetes, I lead a very full life and don’t seek pity from others. Still, I would be grateful for a fundamental acknowledgement of my humanity.
I’m not insulin dependent, but for those who are, finding an affordable and accessible medication to maintain their health is a huge problem. In addition, I have my own set of difficulties, such as how to hide the bruises from my injection sites and the growing expense of my glucose testing strips.
I don’t have to be at work worrying what my coworkers’ true opinions are about diabetes. I don’t think it’s useful to minimize diabetes. Your language has power. When you can assist someone in getting up, why punch them down?
Be the first to comment on "You Cannot Get Diabetes by Eating Sweets"