You have probably heard mention of the current ‘obesity epidemic’ that Canada and other countries are experiencing, followed closely by the ‘diabetes epidemic’. In this context, we are talking about type 2 diabetes, or non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, although the second term is not entirely accurate since type 2 diabetes can become insulin dependent. The focus of this newsletter is type 2 diabetes (not type 1 diabetes, see below) because there is so much we can do to prevent it, and because it is the most common type.