Diabetes, a chronic metabolic disorder resulting from hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), causes many complications that can be life-threatening and has become a global health issue. An estimated 538 million people across the world have this illness, and the number of diabetics is rising, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).
Additionally, the same Diabetes Atlas (2025) reports show that one in four people with diabetes don’t realize they have it, and this, along with many other factors, can contribute to the myths that surround it.
Goodyear, Arizona, residents looking for more information on diabetes and other chronic illnesses can get help from Dr. John Monroe and the dedicated staff at Healthy Life Family Medicine.
Blood glucose, also called blood sugar, plays a crucial role in your metabolism, as it fuels your cells and provides energy. You mainly obtain it from the food you eat, namely carbohydrates, a class of macronutrients that includes starch, sugar, and fiber.
Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, regulates the amount of blood glucose in your system. If you have more than it can handle, you develop hyperglycemia. When hyperglycemia becomes chronic, blood sugar levels climb to the point where you develop type 2 diabetes. Several other types of diabetes exist, but type 2 is the most common.
Typical diabetes symptoms include increased hunger and thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, extreme fatigue, slow-healing sores, and urinating more frequently. Without treatment, complications of the disease can affect most parts of your body and include cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attack, nerve damage, vision loss, and foot ulcers.
Let’s put these popular myths about diabetes to rest:
This myth oversimplifies the condition; overconsumption of sugar and other carbohydrates increases the risk of diabetes, but it doesn’t guarantee it.
Anyone can develop diabetes, and it doesn’t matter what body type you have. In fact, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that nearly 27% are overweight, 47% are obese, and only about 16% are extremely obese..
Both outcomes can occur because of diabetic complications, but neither is a certainty if you have it. Proper management of this problem can reduce the risk of the many issues it can cause, including the loss of sight or an extremity.
This myth confuses obesity and inactivity with physical dysfunction, and while diabetes does make people feel more fatigued, it doesn’t mean they can’t perform activities. In fact, exercise is a good way to manage it.
Diabetes is a chronic problem that can be potentially very harmful, and listening to the myths about it only makes understanding its effects that much harder. We offer many treatment options for treating this illness, so make an appointment with Dr. Monroe and Healthy Life Family Medicine to get it under control.
