August 29, 2023 Crossing the finish line to End Diabetes

If there is a stereotype of people most likely to develop type 2 diabetes, Dave Smith would be the opposite. A former elite runner, two-time national cross-country champion and part-time track coach who regularly ran more than 100 kilometres each week, Dave was shocked when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes following a routine checkup. He had been diagnosed with prediabetes previously.

“In my mind, I thought athletes couldn’t get sick,” he remembers. Fit and in his late 30s at the time, Dave did not have any of the most common risk factors associated with developing type 2 diabetes, such as excess weight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels or a family history of diabetes. Nor had he experienced any common symptoms of diabetes, such as unusual thirst, frequent urination or unexplained weight change.

Even though Dave felt fine, he took his diagnosis seriously. A diabetes education program offered at his local hospital helped him understand the role of physical activity, nutrition and medication in managing his diabetes and reducing his risks of developing any long-term complications.

“The biggest challenge for me was following a healthy diet. As an athlete, I was used to eating anything and everything I wanted,” he says. He also had to adjust to taking oral diabetes medications, which was initially difficult for someone who had previously never taken any pills. “Now it is a way of life, and I am rigorous about taking my meds at the same time every day,” he says.

Dave has been living with diabetes for three decades now. The most important thing he has learned about diabetes is that it is not, in his words, not a death sentence. He says, “As long as you take your medication and follow the treatment that you’re supposed to, then you can live with it.”

Still, he is concerned about what his unexpected diabetes diagnosis might mean for the future health of his three children and four grandchildren. “I watch my little grandkids racing around, and I worry they might have inherited more from me than my love of running,” he says.

Concern for the next generation

While the genetics of type 2 diabetes are not fully understood, research has shown that a person’s risk of developing the condition is higher if they have a parent or sibling with diabetes.  

Dave’s daughter, Andrea Smith, is keenly aware that her family history may put her at risk for type 2. Now approaching the same age as her father was when he was diagnosed with diabetes, she tries to improve her odds by following a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and lots of activity. Like her father, she is an elite runner, completing several marathons a year, as well as a long-distance cyclist.

She knows there are no guarantees when it comes to diabetes, and that’s a message she works hard to get across to people in her job as manager of marketing and communications at Diabetes Canada. “There’s a common misconception that type 2 diabetes affects only people who are overweight or eat too much sugar. But if it can happen to my dad, it can happen to anyone,” she says.

Research’s vital role

In addition to wanting to know more about the hereditary aspect of diabetes, Dave also wonders about the connection between diabetes and some of the other health issues he has experienced over the years, including the loss of vision in one eye and colitis. “I don’t know if they’re related to my diabetes or some other autoimmune disease. It is very frustrating,” he says.

Both he and Andrea hope research will provide answers for their family and others like them. “Research is truly our best hope for a better future,” says Andrea. “As a running family, we know that finding the answers and a cure for diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint, and we have our eye on the finishing line.”

Did you know?

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