No matter how much sweet stuff you or anyone else eats this Christmas, PLEASE skip the #diabetes jokes. These often take the form of joking something is diabetes on a plate or you've eaten so much you'll get diabetes. These jokes are not harmless. They perpetuate stigma against diabetics, misrepresent who is vulnerable and promote the myth that diabetics are getting what they deserve.

You aren't getting diabetes because you occasionally eat more than usual. Type 1 has no known lifestyle related cause, it's thought to be caused immune system malfunction that may have genetic roots. Weight can be a contributing factor for type 2 but there's a range of other causes including genetics and hormonal disorders like PCOS. There's also emerging evidence post viral syndromes like long Covid can be a trigger. Dealing with diabetes sucks badly enough without dealing with shame and stigma for something that wasn't in your control.

In addition to making things worse for already diagnosed people, perpetuating the myth that it's just larger people who eat too much sugar who end up diabetic risks resulting in people who don't meet the stereotypes not getting their symptoms checked. Untreated diabetes of any variety can be dangerous