Diabetic Risk Taking: The Role of Information, Education and Medication

Abstract

Diet adherence is a key determinant in minimizing the risk of diabetes health complications. To not adjust one's diet and habits such as smoking and exercise is to implicitly take a gamble. This paper uses repeated cross-sections of the NHANES from 1971-1994 to study whether diabetics are making "better" choices over time relative to earlier cohorts and to non-diabetics, and whether diabetics are making healthier choices than observationally identical non-diagnosed diabetics. Finally, this paper studies whether diabetic access to improved diabetic medicine has created offsetting incentives such that diet compliance falls.

JEL Classification: Z22