Home | Contact Us | Français

Change site colour

• Diabetes Facts & Stats
• Diabetes Project Ideas
• Diabetes Resources

Diabetes Stats

• More than two million Canadians have diabetes.
• If you’ve been diagnosed you’re lucky—a third of people with diabetes don’t know they have it.
• There are 60,000 new cases of diabetes recorded every year.
• Aboriginal people are 3 to 5 times more likely to have diabetes than other Canadians.
• 90% of Canadians with diabetes have type 2
• 10% of Canadians with diabetes have type 1
• Americans are 95% more afraid of being in a plane crash, getting bitten by a snake, hit by lighting or attacked by a shark than they are of being diagnosed with a disease such as diabetes. (Even though having diabetes is far more likely!)

Diabetes Reality Check

Myth	Reality
X You can catch diabetes.	Diabetes isn’t contagious! It may be genetic, and lifestyle plays a role in type 2, but we don’t really know what causes it.
X Diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar.	Being overweight increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, but diabetes is not a result of too much sugar.
X People with diabetes can’t have sugary foods.	Sweets and desserts can be part of a healthy meal plan when combined with proper diabetes management.
X People with diabetes are more likely to get sick.	Diabetes doesn’t increase your risk of getting a cold or the flu, but when you do get sick it can affect your blood glucose levels, so it’s a good idea to get a flu shot.
X Insulin causes weight gain	The benefit of insulin to your health and diabetes management is far greater than any risk of weight gain.

Facts About Insulin

• Nobel Prize winner Frederick Banting has been named one of the top ten greatest Canadians ever for discovering insulin.
• Banting discovered insulin in 1921 and conducted the first human trials of it on a 14-year-old Toronto teen, Leonard Thompson, in 1922.
• Instead of profiting from his discovery, Banting and his research team sold the rights to insulin to the University of Toronto for $1 to ensure it would remain affordable for everyone who needs it.

Facts About Diabetes Risk Factors
Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, and the exact cause of it remains unknown. You’re considered more at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes if you are:

• Old (40+)
• Of Aboriginal, Hispanic, Asian, South Asian or African descent
• Overweight
• Related to a parent, brother or sister with diabetes
• Experiencing complications of diabetes
• Suffering from certain conditions (eg. impaired glucose tolerance, high blood pressure and high cholesterol)

Learn more about famous people who've proven you can still be and do everything you want to, even if you have diabetes.

	Nick Jonas
	Halle Berry
	Randy Jackson
	Tommy Lee

Are you managing your diabetes?

1. Do you check your blood glucose level as many times a day as your doctor recommends you should? (Question 1 of 5)

Yes
No