Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I don't understand why people are getting upset about it.
The whole series, not just this episode, is about teenagers and their attitude to life and lifestyle which is causing problems for the NHS. It is not about well managed diabetics or even the struggle that people have managing their diabetes.
Next week it is about liver disease now prevalent in people in their early twenties due to excessive alcohol consumption. If you drink in moderation will that mean that the programme will not be to your liking and will you complain that you are being stereotyped because you enjoy a drink?
What I did notice in the comments on Channel4 website is that there are some really indignant Type 1's who buy into the media stereotyping of Type 2's. We brought it on ourselves through gluttony and inactivity. I am sure some of them would like our foreheads tattooed with Type 2 so that people will know the difference. More and more research is uncovering clues about why people get Type 2 and hopefully one day we will not be seen as "those fat people who brought it on themselves".
I do agree about the purpose of the programme not being about educating the public about diabetes. However, I think the message about the young people's poor lifestyle choices got intertwined in some way with generalisations about why people get diabetes. Your comment about research uncovering new information about causes is very true, but how often do you hear this mentioned in mainstream media when diabetes is being explained?
Regarding the Type1s who feel there is any truth in the 'fat and lazy' verdict on Type2s, I have always been very heartened by the fact that that is very rarely the case in this forum. I personally feel it is terrible that this is how Type2s are portrayed, no-one should be made to feel guilty because they have diabetes, and there is no 'good' and 'bad' reason for getting it.