I was wrong. Type 2 diabetes isn’t a lifestyle disease by personal choice

Sami Inkinen
4 min readJan 28, 2021

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A confession: for years, I was convinced that people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) only had themselves to blame.

The logic behind this conclusion was simple: T2D is a lifestyle disease and therefore a choice, controllable with will(power). Sure, environmental factors make “good lifestyle choices” harder. But in the end, it is still a choice.

I could not have been more wrong.

Indeed

In the years I’ve spent building and leading Virta Health, I’ve encountered no shortage of people who hold my former beliefs. Even the CDC amplifies the message that it’s on YOU to make different (better) choices to prevent/delay/manage T2D. Just try harder!

“You can do” — from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/library/socialmedia/diabetes-infographic.pdf

Those lucky ones, who are metabolically healthy often see it that way — that their “good choices” are leading to their well being. It seems so simple and logical, but it is anything but. Here’s why.

After reversing T2D with thousands and thousands of patients at Virta Health — many who have lived with diabetes for decades before coming to Virta- I can say with confidence that none of our patients would say: “ I decided to have diabetes and let it get even worse over time.” Not a single one. Yet, T2D typically ends up being a chronic and progressive disease with a miserable end. This end result is not for lack of trying. Most of our patients have been fighting tooth and nail against T2D’s progression, following recommendations of health experts, only to see their diabetes get worse — against all of their will and choice.

Data tells us that T2D disproportionately affects marginalized populations (another injustice for a separate post), but on general terms it affects everyone. From the truck drivers to the office workers to the tribal nation members and even healthcare CEO ‘s that have come to us to help them reverse their condition, we’ve seen diabetes take its toll on all parts of the U.S.

The bottom line is that people have T2D against their will and most have fought against it with all they have. Encouraging them to try harder does not work when biology trumps willpower everyday of the week.

We’ve shown through our published research that T2D can be reversed rapidly, safely and sustainably. Even more importantly, these results can be achieved systematically and directly by addressing the underlying biological drivers — like insulin resistance and inflammation — that have nothing to do with willpower or grit.

Imagine using grit to go through a concrete wall, rather than finding a door that can be opened to get to the other side. Similarly, we just need to open the biological door to reverse T2D.

T2D and its underlying drivers can be improved systematically, safely and quickly. We just need the right keys for the right biological doors.

The national discussion on diabetes has led to a shameful gaslighting of people living with T2D. We call it a lifestyle disease, indirectly shaming people for their own poor choices and/or lack of willpower. We fail to recognize that T2D is a biological (and to some extent genetic) disorder, expressed and amplified by environmental factors, including foods that are the result of an ongoing bombardment of misleading nutrition advertisements. We tell people to eat less and exercise more, with little in the way of definition or support that can actually make a difference.

And we do all of this while telling people diabetes is chronic and progressive, something only to be managed, when irrefutable data suggests it can be systematically reversed — that a life of increasing medications and worsening disease doesn’t have to be the norm.

When we understand the true drivers of T2D, not only can we properly address this epidemic affecting already half a billion people (and growing) globally, we can also stop stigmatizing diabetes as a failure of personal choice or lack of willpower.

I was wrong about Type 2 Diabetes, perpetuating an unfair perception still sadly held by millions of others. We’re doing what we can at Virta to change this perception, and most importantly, provide a path forward for people to reverse their “chronic condition” to be able to again live disease- and medication-free.

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Sami Inkinen
Sami Inkinen

Written by Sami Inkinen

Founder & CEO @VirtaHealth on a mission to cure irreversible diseases, Co-Founder @Trulia, Data Geek. 8h24min Ironman & Triathlon world champ (ag).

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