ADA: Public Knows about Diabetes, Yet Takes No Action

Americans are well informed about the risks, dangers, and signs of diabetes, but that knowledge does not appear to translate into actions to prevent or control the disease, researchers reported. Almost 87% of the 3,867 type 2 diabetes respondents in a huge national sampling knew that obesity contributes to chronic disease; more than 75% were aware that type 2 diabetes was as dangerous to health as type 1 diabetes; and 90% were aware that diabetes is more than just a “sugar” disease. Only 57.3% of the people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes who filled out 8-page questionnaires on health and lifestyle practices said they were even “considering” a plan to lose weight. That’s despite only 23.4% of the people surveyed saying they considered their health excellent; 17.2% of the high-risk cohort said they would rather take medication than change their lifestyle — about twice the 8.8% of low risk people in the survey who said they would rather look for a silver bullet in a pill bottle than lose weight and exercise. Only 56.3% of those at high risk remembered their doctor advising them to do something about changing their diet. The results for exercise were just as dismal. Green A “Final Results of the SHIELD Study — Epidemiologic and public policy considerations from a five-year prospective diabetes mellitus study” ADA 2011; P. 146