Unrealistic Optimism, Sex, and Risk Perception of Type 2 Diabetes Onset: Implications for Education Programs

Reyes-Velázquez, Wanda; Sealey-Potts, Claudia

The second research question sought to identify differences in risk perceptions of type 2 diabetes onset between students who thought they were personally at risk for type 2 diabetes and those who thought other students were at risk. Students who had a lower risk perception (n = 241) exercised an average of 3.68 days/ week. Within this group, 15.8% In addition, 13% of the participants who had low risk perception reported having no daily servings of vegetables, 32.6% reported having 1 daily serving, 30.5% reported having 2 daily servings, 18% reported having 3 daily servings, and 5.9% reported having ≥4 daily vegetable servings. Participants who reported having a blood relative with diabetes in their nuclear family had a moderately high risk perception (mean = 6.58, t = 10.740, df = 306, P = 0.000).