Perception of Type II Diabetes Mellitus among the Subjects Surveyed - Essay Example

Among the sample we questioned, a majority of them, 66.7% representing 20 individuals were of the opinion that type II diabetes mellitus is a dangerous disease. Only 1 subject represents a meager 3.3 of the total sample population disagreed. This indicates that diabetes mellitus, type II is feared by more than half of the population as a dangerous disease and only a significantly low proportion of the total population is of the opinion that the disease is not that dangerous. This information is well represented in table 1 below.  

Table 1: Do you think diabetes is a dangerous disease?

Perception

Strongly agree

Agree

Not Sure

Strongly disagree

Frequency

1

20

8

1

Per cent

3.3

66.7

26.7

3.3

In the pie chart (see figure 2), the perception of the sample population towards type II diabetes is clearly illustrated.

The causes of type II diabetes were listed as genetic factors, obesity, a poor diet, or, in some cases, vitamin D insufficiency. Consequently, the study sought to identify from the sample population what was their opinion on the cause of diabetes among these four factors. Interestingly, more than half, 56.7%, representing 17 subjects in the sample linked to type II diabetes to obesity. However, a few individuals linked the disease to a poor diet or genetic factors. It should be noted that vitamin D and poor diet may be intertwined since both have to do with one’s eating habits. In this regard, 30% of the subjects of this study linked these two factors to the disease. Therefore, inferring from these statistics, it is true that obesity leads to a major cause of type II diabetes mellitus with poor diet coming to a distance second (see table 2 below).  

Table 2: Causes of Type II Diabetes

Genetic factors

Obesity

Poor Diet

Vitamin D insufficiency

Frequency

4

17

4

5

Percent

13.3

56.7

13.3

16.7

The pie chart below (see figure 3) seeks to illustrate the different opinions among the study subjects on the cause of type II diabetes mellitus.

Personal measures taken to prevent type II diabetes were also investigated in this study. These factors majored on habits/behaviors aimed at preventing type II diabetes, namely, exercise, diet, and enough sleep (sleeping early). Of the personal initiatives, 14 subjects, representing 46.7% of the survey subjects, exercised so as to curb the disease, whereas only 23.3% were of the opinion that sleeping early could prevent type II diabetes mellitus (see below table 3, a pie chart representation of the statistics is also provided in figure 4). 

The study also probed the dietary measures the subjects in the study adapted to curb type II diabetes. These measures included avoiding fatty food and alcohol and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. A majority were of the opinion that avoiding fatty foods could prevent type II diabetes mellitus (see table 4, see also figure 5). 

Answers to the question on which category of the population was at the highest risk of developing type II diabetes were as follows: a staggering 70% of the subjects were of the opinion that the elderly are at a high risk of developing the disease (see table 5, see also figure 6 ).