The Canadian Diabetes Association is hoping next week's World Health Day will bring attention to a growing disease.
Based on numbers in the Prairie Mountain Health Region, they're estimating about 800-850 people in Dauphin are living with diabetes, or about 1-in-9 people.
One of those is Dauphin's outgoing MLA Stan Struthers.
He was first diagnosed while in office about 12 years ago. He says there are a lot of good places to get information on living with diabetes, and you might already know the right people to talk to.
"I've got a lot of good information, a lot of good advice from pharmacists. When I go to pick up my pills, I get good information from dieticians. Even people I meet in my everyday life who have connections to healthcare. I have a lot of questions, and I think everybody should."
The Canadian Diabetes Association says when people are diagnosed with the condition, it can force some pretty big changes in their diets.
Manitoba Regional Director Andrea Kwasnicki says, like was the case with Struthers, when those changes in lifestyle are made, it can have overall positive effects on their health, despite the condition.
"As soon as you start eating healthier and you become more active, your overall well-being will be improved."
Kwasnicki says she's heard several misconceptions about diabetes during her time with the organization, but she says the biggest is that many people believe it's the so-called sugar disease.
"It's just a matter of how that sugar breaks down into our bodies. Whether it's bread or a candy bar, that's not going to determine us getting diabetes, it's how the sugar is being broken down."
Kwasnicki says, however, Type 2 diabetes is a "self-managed disease", meaning the risk of getting it can be lowered through a healthy and active lifestyle.
