If you spend any time on social media, you might notice that trends come and go. A recent trend to take over TikTok is non-diabetics wearing continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to see how different foods impacts their blood sugar levels.

CGMs are a tool typically used by people with diabetes to more easily manage blood sugar. Rather than having to manually check blood sugar levels, CGMs allow people to read their levels through a smartphone app. The ease of use of CGMs versus traditional blood sugar monitoring has been found to reduce stress associated with diabetes.

Photo: Pexels/John Valette

Now, people without diabetes are also turning to CGMs. But why?

On TikTok, the hashtags #insulinresistance has 1.3 billion views, while #continuousglucosemonitor has over 35.8 million views.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Sjo License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Justin of @insulinresistant1 is one of the accounts promoting and encouraging the use of CGMs for everyone. He profits off selling CGMs to people without diabetes so they can track their blood sugar levels and get an idea of how food interacts with their bodies.

Many people like the idea of knowing how food impacts blood sugar levels on a meal by meal basis.

https://www.tiktok.com/@insulinresistant1/video/7221725285064903942

While the trend is big on TikTok, there are some accounts who oppose the idea. Dr. Idz, a medical doctor who has a master's in nutrition research, took to the app to criticize the trend, tying it to disordered eating behavior.

https://www.tiktok.com/@dr_idz/video/7167423330461453574

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 37 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 of them don't know they have it. That means over 7 million people are living with diabetes and are unaware they have diabetes. Beyond that, 96 million US adults (over a third) have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 8 in 10 of them don't know they have it. In other words, more than 76 million adults in the U.S. have prediabetes and don't know it.

According to Harvard Health, CGMs could help people identify prediabetes. Harvard wrote, "CGM might allow earlier diagnosis of prediabetes or diabetes. This could be particularly helpful for people at higher risk for diabetes due to family history or other factors, and people taking medicines that can raise blood sugar."

Photo: Pexels/Towfiqu barbhuiya

Of course, you don't have to wear a CGM to be monitored for prediabetes or diabetes. You can be screened through a doctor for prediabetes, which is something that's recommended every three years. If you have any of the following symptoms of diabetes, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor:

- Increased urination
- Increased thirst
- Unintentional weight loss
- Increased hunger
- Blurry vision
- Numb or tingling hands or feet
- Fatigue
- Dry skin
- Sores that heal slowly
- Increased infections

All in all, using a continuous glucose monitor is a popular social media trend that offers little to no health benefits for the average healthy adult. CGMs might be able to detect prediabetes in some people, but they aren't necessary to do so.

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