On World Diabetes Day 2025, we spotlight the global push for better diabetes awareness, prevention and care in the United States and beyond. This year’s campaign theme, “Diabetes and Well-being” with a sub-focus on “Diabetes and the workplace”, zeroes in on how diabetes affects people at every stage of life—including childhood, working age and older adulthood—and the environments where they live, work and build their futures.
Key Updates for 2025
- Every year on November 14, organizations worldwide raise awareness of diabetes and its growing impact.
- For 2025, the global movement emphasizes integrated support for living well with diabetes, not simply managing blood sugar.
- The campaign highlights that workplaces, employer policies and supportive work environments are crucial to overall diabetes well-being.
- In the United States, these themes translate into calls for:
- Employers to adopt diabetes-friendly wellness and monitoring policies.
- Individuals of all ages to recognize that diabetes prevention and management must be tailored to their life stage.
- Health-care systems to integrate care that supports not only blood-glucose control but mental, physical and occupational health.
Why the Theme Matters
- Diabetes is often seen as an older-adult issue, but it affects people in childhood, adolescence, working age and older age.
- Because most people with diabetes are of working age, the workplace becomes a key context for support, monitoring, education and inclusion.
- Focusing on well-being means shifting from simply treating disease to enabling thriving lives: physical activity, healthy work culture, mental health support, access to care and meaningful employment.
- In the U.S., where millions live with or are at risk for diabetes, the emphasis on life-stages and workplaces means that prevention and management must adapt to real-life conditions.
U.S. Outlook: What to Know, What to Do
- Screening and early detection: People of all ages should talk to their doctors about risks—especially if they have family history, excess weight, sedentary lifestyle or other risk factors.
- Workplace logistics: Employers should assess whether their policies allow for safe monitoring, flexible breaks, healthy food options, and support for employees living with diabetes.
- Individual actions by life stage:
- Children/adolescents: Good nutrition, activity and education.
- Working-age adults: Manage stress, sleep, eat well, monitor glucose and push for a supportive work setting.
- Older adults: Coordinate care for multiple health issues, maintain mobility and monitor for complications.
- Health system alignment: Providers should deliver care that considers the person’s stage in life—as opposed to a “one-size-fits-all” model—while insurers and employers explore covering wellness and prevention programs.
Practical Tips for U.S. Employers and Individuals
- Employers: Create an “inclusive diabetes plan” that covers monitoring space, educational resources, mental health support, healthy food in cafeterias and flexibility for medical appointments.
- Individuals: If you live with diabetes or risk it, know your numbers (blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol), schedule regular check-ups, choose nutritious food, stay active and advocate for workplace support.
- Families: Talk openly about diabetes risk, support healthy habits across generations, and treat diabetes as a shared challenge rather than an isolated condition.
- Health-care professionals: In clinical settings, ask about work, lifestyle and life stage. Educate patients about how their job, age and daily routines influence diabetes risk and management.
The Bigger Picture
- Diabetes continues to rise in the United States, affecting people of all ages and backgrounds.
- By elevating the idea of well-being and focusing on workplaces and life stages, the campaign seeks to broaden the conversation beyond the doctor’s office and into daily life.
- When workplace culture, family support and life stage-sensitive care align, people with or at risk for diabetes have a far better chance of living well.
- For U.S. employers, policy makers and individuals alike, 2025 represents an opportunity to move beyond awareness and toward real change: inclusive employment, tailored care, preventive strategies and lifelong health.
Final Thoughts
Marking World Diabetes Day 2025 isn’t just about a date on the calendar—it’s a call to action for all of us, in every role. Whether you’re an employee managing diabetes, an employer shaping work culture or a health-care provider advising patients, this year’s focus on well-being, work and life stages gives us a roadmap to better support people living with or at risk for diabetes.
We invite you to share how your workplace, family or health-care practice is adapting to build better diabetes support across life stages—your insights matter.