Word Diabetes Day!

It's World Diabetes Day!

So, you may be asking what the point of World Diabetes Day is. Well, I will tell you. World Diabetes Day is basically an education and prevention campaign, headed up by the International Diabetes Federation, among many other people. It’s been happening since 1991, and the theme for this year is “Let’s Take Control of Diabetes. Now.”

This is how the campaign's web-site explains it:

“2010 marks the second year of the five-year focus on 'Diabetes education and prevention", the theme selected for World Diabetes Day 2009-2013. The campaign calls on all those responsible for diabetes care to take control of diabetes. Now. For the general public and people at high risk of diabetes, the campaign aims to raise awareness and disseminate tools for prevention. For people with diabetes, the focus will be on disseminating tools to improve knowledge of the disease in order to better understand it and prevent complications. For governments and policy-makers, efforts will go towards communicating the cost-effective implications of diabetes prevention strategies and promoting diabetes education as a core component of diabetes management and treatment.”

So, you have a few jobs to do! First, your LONG TERM JOB:

• If you are a member of the general public or at high risk your job is to learn what diabetes is, know the symptoms, and start taking steps to prevent it!

• If you are a diabetic your job is to learn more about and better use the tools you need to manage your disease well and prevent complications.

• If you are in a government position or a policy maker of any sort, it is your job to learn that diabetes prevention is cost effective in the long run, and that you should work towards using your influence to create awareness of this disease in the general public. Spread the word that preventing diabetes now (whether that’s passing laws to get healthier food in schools, or helping make walking trails better in your community, or making the health care system better) will be better for not only the financial bottom line in the future, but also for the greater good of humanity!

Second, your SHORT TERM JOB-do something to commemorate WDD today. Here are a few ideas on how to do that:

• Blog about diabetes
• Have a conversation with friends or family about your diabetes risk, or what you can do to prevent diabetes or better manage your existing diabetes
• Wear blue
• Light a candle
• Write a letter (or send an e-mail) to your government representative asking them to make diabetes prevention a priority
• Tweet about diabetes
• Change your facebook status to something like “Observing World Diabetes Day today.”

So, get to work, peeps! We all have a job in preventing diabetes. Remember, by 2050 it will affect 1 in 3 of us if we don’t take action. Let’s Take Control of Diabetes. NOW!