Maybe, instead of constantly drumming on about "diet and lifestyle", we should be studying why the "diet and lifestyle" message has completely failed to move the needle on the obesity crisis.
Cuz I'm pretty sure nobody with diabetes has not heard about "diet and lifestyle". So comments like that are not adding anything to the conversation.
It's the wrong "diet and lifestyle" recommendation - the standard suggestions of eating less and exercising more don't work.
What does work specifically is a low carb diet and intermittent fasting lifestyle, together with close medical supervision. https://www.virtahealth.com/ has had great success with the approach.
There is also a lot of research indicating that inflammation is an underlying cause of most forms of diabetes. Controlling inflammation, in part by changing my diet, is likely a significant factor in getting my blood sugar issues under control as a side effect of more general efforts to remedy my health problems.
Cuz I'm pretty sure nobody with diabetes has not heard about "diet and lifestyle". So comments like that are not adding anything to the conversation.