Due: 1/26/22 | Submitted: 3/30/22
The percentages of diabetes in Boston, Massachusetts, and Charleston, West Virginia, are much less than other areas of each state where the population of white residents is higher, according to recent data from DataUSA.
The data, collected from the U.S. Census, revealed the amount of white residents and individuals with diabetes according to the respective state county of each city - contradicting the stereotype that diabetes primarily affects Black people and other communities of color.
City, State | County | White Population | Diabetes* |
Boston, MA | Suffolk | 44.6% | 7.9% |
| Plymouth | 79.7% | 11.1% |
Charleston, WV | Kanawha | 87.7% | 15.8% |
| McDowell | 88.7% | 17% |
While this challenges the common misconception, the data fails to specify which type* of diabetes was recorded, Type 1 or Type 2, further complicating the story. Specifying which type of diabetes the data is referring to, whether that be one or the other or both types, would help clarify the data and allow more room for specific contextual information.
Typically diagnosed during childhood, people who have type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin because their immune system essentially destroys the insulin-producing cells in their pancreas. The genetic disorder is also more prevalent among white people, according to various studies in recent years citing white youth being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at a higher rate than other racial groups.
Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, develops over time due to various reasons including poor diet, lack of exercise and even pregnancy. Unlike type 1, those who have type 2 diabetes produce a small amount of insulin but not enough for the body to keep up with the high blood sugar levels.
The key difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes is that one is a genetic disorder and the other is one that develops over time typically due to poor diet and lack of exercise, which is why there is a stigma of having type 2 diabetes and people often associate it with only fat people and people of color. Many also argue that it's fat people’s own fault that they develop type 2 diabetes and fail to acknowledge the many systems of power that prevent access to not only food, but proper healthcare.
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