Health or Love: Which Would Most People With Type 2 Diabetes Choose?

If given the option, would you choose perfect health for the rest of your life or a perfect marriage or relationship?

Among people living with type 2 diabetes, the resounding preference was perfect health (65 percent versus 35 percent) in a new Everyday Health survey of 501 people living with the disease. The survey queried patients on that question and several others to gauge their values.

Respondents also said they’d choose being the happiest person in the room (53 percent) versus the healthiest (47 percent). Meanwhile, they preferred a guaranteed cure for type 2 diabetes (69 percent) over a guaranteed college education for a child (31 percent), but 74 percent would choose being able to run around with grandkids over ordering takeout four nights per week (26 percent), and having energy to enjoy weekends (78 percent) over sleeping in every weekend (22 percent).

Responses changed depending on factors such as where the respondent was in their condition journey (for example, how long they’d been diagnosed with diabetes) and whether they were taking a GLP-1 drug.

As patients get further along in their journey with type 2 diabetes, their priorities appear to shift from weight- and appearance-oriented goals toward freedom from the disease. For example, compared with patients diagnosed within the past three years, seasoned patients (those with diabetes for 10 or more years) would choose a guaranteed cure for type 2 diabetes (76 percent) over a child’s college education (66 percent).

People who weren’t currently using GLP-1 medications were more likely than those who were to prioritize perfect health over a perfect marriage or relationship (71 percent versus 59 percent) and to choose a guaranteed cure for type 2 diabetes over a child's college education (72 percent versus 65 percent), the results revealed.

What’s more, women were significantly more likely than men to value being the healthiest person in the room over the happiest (52 percent versus 44 percent), while men were significantly more likely to prioritize happiness (56 percent versus 48 percent).

Overall, the results are not surprising, says Kimberly Gudzune, MD, MPH, obesity medicine physician and affiliate faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “They highlight that people living with type 2 diabetes are looking to live healthy and happy lives, but having diabetes may make it challenging to meet these goals,” she says.

Type 2 diabetes can reduce a person’s life expectancy, which is why Dr. Gudzune says it “makes sense” that people living with the condition would favor a cure. “Type 2 diabetes may also impact the quality of life, so it’s not just a longer lifespan, but being able to enjoy the years that you have,” she says.

Jennifer Frediani, PhD, RD, agreed. “Having type 2 diabetes is life-changing,” said Dr. Frediani, who is a professor at the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and a medical reviewer at Everyday Health. “Your life revolves around what you’ve eaten, what your exercise plan is, and when you’re taking your medications.”

She says that type 2 diabetes management can be “all you think about” for some patients, especially if they’re taking medications with a risk of uncomfortable side effects. “I get that people would choose a cure over something like a paid college education, which they may be able to figure out,” she says.

But Frediani points out that there are often different levels of concern in people with type 2 diabetes, reflected by some people preferring to sleep in on weekends versus having enough energy for those days. “There are some people that are going to do their best to prevent complications and then there are others that think, ‘That won’t happen to me,’” she says.

Still, a large number of respondents seemed focused on trying to improve their health. “Type 2 diabetes not only reduces life expectancy but increases a person’s risk of other health conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease,” Gudzune says. “The survey results seem to suggest that people are aware of these risks and are concerned about their long-term health.”

The right treatment plan for type 2 diabetes is individualized to the patient and often requires a team of healthcare professionals, Gudzune says. If your current treatment plan doesn’t seem to be improving your blood sugar levels or is affecting your quality of life, Gudzune recommends talking to your providers.

“People with type 2 diabetes should share their challenges and concerns with their primary care clinician and endocrinologist,” she says. “In addition, many find it helpful to work with diabetes self-management education and support services, where a diabetes care and education specialist can help create a plan and teach about the key self-care behaviors such as healthy eating and reducing the risks of diabetes complications.”

Frediani stresses the importance of refining treatment with time. “If you manage it well and are getting better, you may be able to go off medication,” she says. “But the opposite can happen: If you don’t take your medication correctly or change your lifestyle, it can get a lot worse.”

Sources: Everyday Health Type 2 Diabetes/GLP-1 Patient Survey, N= 501, Aug. 5-13, 2026.