Soaring popularity of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) among the non-diabetic public. This trend has spurred a robust and sometimes contentious public conversation in the medical community and among people living with diabetes. Michelle Woolhouse, founder of Vively, believes it’s devices like these that will allow people to detect health problems early on. They allow consumers to take control of their weight by providing immediate feedback on how various foods and lifestyle choices affect their health. This newest trend creates concern for many Americans. Take Corrine Moore, a 25-year-old type 1 diabetic, who worries every day about how to keep her blood sugar in check.
Founded in 2021, Vively became the first Australian company to deliver innovative blood glucose monitoring solutions. Now, anyone without diabetes can readily get their hands on this cutting-edge technology. In tracking metabolic health, Woolhouse emphasizes the power of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). These devices are particularly useful for populations such as peri-menopausal women, who often lose weight, but use them to avoid gaining weight. Given this potential, there are fears about what large-scale adoption of CGM by non-diabetics could mean.
Challenges Faced by Diabetics
For individuals like Corrine Moore, living with type 1 diabetes presents an ongoing battle to keep blood sugar levels within a safe range. Moore depends on an app linked to her CGM, which tracks her blood sugar every five minutes. She speaks to the frustration with the unneeded panic that those who aren’t diabetics feel at the thought of their glucose going up a point or two. “It’s hard to watch people without diabetes fret about small rises and drops,” she states.
Jessica Weiss, spokesperson for Diabetes WA, wants people to know that small blood sugar spikes and drops are completely normal. This is especially so for people even without diabetes. This inherent variability could mislead non-diabetic users. If they don’t receive the right education, they will likely draw incorrect conclusions from data seen through CGMs.
The price of CGMs adds another barrier for many. While a limited quota of CGMs is subsidized annually for type 1 diabetics, type 2 diabetics must pay full price, which ranges from $200 to $300 per month. This financial pressure may limit access to these devices for many patients.
Growing Interest Among Non-Diabetics
With the increasing demand for CGMs from non-diabetics, the state of supply versus demand only further complicates the issue at hand. Woolhouse claims that Vively has considered very thoroughly the risk of scarcities. He strongly argues that it should be “not the case” in Australia at the moment. Jessica Weiss, whom many consider the Buddha of the current supply chain, concedes it’s hard to say how demand from newly diagnosed non-diabetics will play out in terms of stocking it.
Woolhouse adds that the research behind CGMs is still very preliminary. Until research provides more conclusive evidence one way or another, we don’t know if using a CGM is harmful for people who do not have diabetes. An increasing number of people are using these devices to track their health and lose weight. As this trend continues to escalate, the medical community cannot afford to become complacent.
Risk of Misinformation and Anxiety
As continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) gain popularity with the non-diabetic population, concerns about misinformation are rising. This move may further contribute to increased fear around monitoring one’s health. Steve Grace, director of Curious Media, emphasizes that there exists a cultural tendency in Western societies to treat symptoms rather than underlying conditions. This narrowly defined view can lead people to obsess over the minutiae of day-to-day glucose fluctuations. Those variations are not always clinically meaningful.
Weiss cautions that without proper education about what to expect from CGMs, non-diabetic users could misinterpret their data. This misunderstanding might cause families to fret over their child’s health needlessly. It might trigger a cycle of stress instead of strengthening wellbeing.