Nobody likes a know-it-all. I've worked really hard for a number of years to keep myself from saying, "Actually, this is how it is...." in just about every situation. I've worked hard to decide when I should make an issue out of what I think is right.

I think I'm doing pretty good with not forcing people to know that I know everything. Even when it comes to diabetes. I've written here before about avoiding conversations about diabetes and not getting into too much detail about certain diabetes-related issues. It depends on the person and the conversation and so many other factors.

But tonight while I was proofing a story for work, I went back and forth about whether to make the distinction between type 1 and type 2 diabetes for an audience that the majority of whom likely have no idea that there even is a difference.

The company I work for supports HR professionals. So the magazine for which I'm the editor includes articles about compensation, benefits, retirement, stock options, how to attract and retain employees, and wellness among others.

The story I was reading was about a company that helped its employees identify if they were at risk for and/or helped them manage chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. My first reaction was to make the distinction that this article was clearly talking about type 2 diabetes (the nature of the employees' work is sedentary, they have irregular sleep patterns, they can easily gain weight...).

And then I decided that "diabetes" as an umbrella term would be OK in this situation because much of what was being discussed did apply to both types. But as I read more it was very clear that the distinction needed to be made because when you have an article being read by 50,000 people or more and those people are influential in wellness and benefits decisions I think it's important to not perpetuate the problems that many of us face: that it's not all diet-controlled or just about popping pills and losing weight.

The problem gets a little bigger, though. How can I address this without making the story too "medical-ese?" How can I clearly state that all mentions of "diabetes" in the story are about type 2 diabetes without shoving it down the readers' throats? Because the article isn't about diabetes, it's about overall employee wellness.

Not to mention that I don't want to be known as one who harps on all things diabetes. My colleagues respect me and my knowledge, but I realize that sometimes the things we're "expert" in can be daunting to others.

So I'll sleep on it and figure out in the morning the best way to make sure my readers understand the difference.