How Well Do People with Type 1 Diabetes Understand Carbohydrates?

Managing blood sugar in Type 1 diabetes depends heavily on understanding carbohydrates. Knowing which foods contain carbs, how much they contain, and how they affect your blood sugar helps you make informed decisions about food and insulin dosing. But not everyone with diabetes has equal knowledge in this area—and that's what researchers in France wanted to understand.

Researchers from the NutriNet-Santé cohort study assessed carbohydrate knowledge in 465 adults: 96 with Type 1 diabetes, 153 with insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes, and 216 controls without diabetes. Participants completed a questionnaire called GluciQuizz that tested five key skills: recognizing carbohydrate foods, knowing how much carbohydrate they contain, reading nutrition labels, understanding glycemic targets and how to prevent low blood sugar, and estimating carbohydrate content in meals.

Type 1 diabetes participants scored significantly higher—an average of 23.9 out of a possible score—compared to those with insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes, who averaged 17.5. On average, participants with Type 1 diabetes were 65.8 years old and had lived with diabetes for about 23 years.

When researchers compared the diabetes groups to matched controls without diabetes, an interesting pattern emerged. Type 1 diabetes participants outperformed their non-diabetic peers in carbohydrate knowledge. However, people with insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes scored similarly to people without diabetes—suggesting they may not have stronger carb knowledge despite managing the condition.

This difference may reflect how Type 1 diabetes management is structured. From diagnosis onward, people with Type 1 diabetes typically receive structured education about counting carbohydrates and matching insulin to food intake, a core part of their daily care. This intensive focus on carb knowledge from early on may account for their stronger performance.

The findings suggest that people with insulin-treated Type 2 diabetes could benefit from more targeted education about carbohydrate management. Better understanding of how carbohydrates affect blood sugar may help improve both diet choices and overall blood sugar control.

If you or a loved one manages Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes with insulin, talk with your healthcare team or a registered dietitian about carbohydrate education resources. Understanding your food can be a powerful tool in your diabetes management toolkit.

Source: Nutrients. Evidence type: PubMed indexed literature. Type1Cure is an information and intelligence hub, not a medical advice service. This article summarizes published research and does not provide diagnosis, treatment, or personal medical guidance. Always talk to your own care team before changing anything about your Type 1 diabetes management.