The IDF Congress was in Bangkok, Thailand this time around. It is always great to see so many people focused on diabetes from around the world. I always gain new perspectives on the global condition.

This year, the highlight of my trip, in terms of understanding how culture impacts living with diabetes, was when I learned that diabetes stigma doesn’t exist in Zimbabwe as it does in the USA. Older people with diabetes say it proudly because it gives them advantages. They are cared for first at social gatherings. They are allowed to skip lines. I smiled as the two Endos told me this in a jovial manner, because I thought the diabetes meals I had on the long flights to Bangkok. I indeed got my food first.

The two Endos did admit, however, that with young people, the stigma is prevalent.

D-Talk, The podcast series of the IDF had a number of live recordings. This was outstanding! I can’t wait to share the links when they are ready.

I had a great time.

My favorite panel was the one on obesity among people with T1D. Because I strongly feel like an aspect of my misdiagnosis is because I live with obesity, it was intriguing to hear the conversations. As the obesity pandemic rises, so too is the amount of people being diagnosed with T1D. We too often only connect obesity with T2D, but as one researcher put it-“everyone is affected by the obesity pandemic.”

That’s it for now, there’s so much more to share, but I wanted to start someplace.