The Fittest Doc

This "weight loss trick" in diabetes triples your risk of early death. Are you doing it?

Between 30-40% of adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes skip or reduce insulin doses to lose weight. It has a name: diabulimia. And the data behind it is devastating.

Key findings from this study:

• Insulin restriction raises mortality risk by more than 3x in type 1 diabetics

• The average age of death among insulin restrictors was just 45, vs. 58 in those who used insulin correctly
37.9% of females and 15.9% of males with T1D reported unhealthy weight control practices

• Disordered eating in T1D accelerates blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage

• Disordered eating status was a stronger predictor of diabetic retinopathy than how long someone had diabetes

Here's what nobody tells you: insulin management requires constant focus on food, weight, and body image. That pressure, especially during adolescence, creates the perfect conditions for an eating disorder to develop quietly.

And the healthcare system? It often misses it entirely. No validated screening tool even existed at the time of this study.

We can engineer better outcomes, but only if we first acknowledge the flaw in the system.

If you have type 1 diabetes, or love someone who does, what conversations about body image and insulin have you had with your care team?

Share this with every T1D family you know. This could save a life.

I've shared this study's limitations within the post's comment section at the same place you can ask me questions about it, on my Instagram - ''

P.S.: Want a question of yours related to this post answered by me? I unfortunately cannot check all of my social media posts daily and I don't want to miss your question. Direct message me on Instagram (Username: ) to get an answer from me.

🫶🏾 Dr. Nick⁣ ⁣



PMID: 22220220