WORLD DIABETES DAY
The theme of World Diabetes Day 2016 is Eyes on Diabetes. The fact that diabetes is a leading cause of blindness should not be ignored. Every year the International Diabetes Federation sponsors World Diabetes Day, November 14, recognized in 2006 with a United Nations General Assembly Resolution.
HELP GET THE WORD OUT FOR WDD 14 NOVEMBER
Here are links to more information about WDD:
www.idf.org/wdd
www.idf.org/wdd/2016
Help raise diabetes awareness by sending these links for your club newsletter and district newsletter around November 14th. Marketing departments for local hospitals and governments are natural outlets for World Diabetes Day and for Rotary to raise awareness about both organizations.
Go Blue for Breakfast
The World Diabetes Day 2014 campaign is asking everyone to GO BLUE FOR BREAKFAST in November by organising a healthy breakfast activity in your local community to highlight the importance of eating healthy to help prevent type 2 diabetes and avoid the serious complications of the disease.
You can join the campaign by:
- Getting your friends, family, colleagues or members of your organisation together and asking them to join you for a healthy breakfast to mark World Diabetes Day on 14 November.
- Identifying a public place in your town or city where the breakfast could be held. If possible, choose a well-known location to engage the wider public and attract media interest.
- Ensuring that all participants at the breakfast wear blue, the colour of the blue circle – the global symbol for diabetes awareness. The International Diabetes Federation has a selection of blue-branded materials that you can choose from.
All Go Blue for Breakfast events submitted will be displayed on our global map and the number of participants will go towards filling the blue circle in the centre of the platform. Help us reach the largest total possible in support of the 382 million people with diabetes and the many more at risk.
Submit your healthy breakfast!
Our Go Blue for Breakfast platform will also promote the importance of starting the day with a healthy breakfast by showcasing recipes from around the world. If you have a healthy recipe that you would like to share with the global community, you can submit it online by listing the ingredients, measurements and cooking method and providing a picture. Recipes from Argentina, Mexico and Spain have already been submitted.
Interview with Chef Mattocks
To kick-off the Go Blue for Breakfast campaign we are pleased to feature an interview with celebrity chef and IDF Blue Circle Champion Charles Mattocks, who is very active in promoting the importance of eating healthy, particularly among children and youth.
You are working really hard to educate and inspire people around the world. Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration now comes from another place. When I was a baby in diabetes it came from wanting to carve my place as an advocate. Now it comes from seeing people with diabetes that at times have very little and just need a helping hand. I recently met a woman in Jamaica that I was shooting for my film, who had just lost her job and was about to lose her home as a result of issues that her diabetes had caused. So now it’s about the faces that are hurting not just from the condition but the aftermath.
The 2014 campaign is focusing on healthy eating and diabetes. How important is it to have a healthy lifestyle and eat healthy?
Eating, as we have heard, is your medicine and the more I travel and see the role food plays it’s so key. Healthy foods in my opinion are 80 percent of the issue. Many people do a lot of walking because they have no choice but their diets are so bad because they are not aware of the effect of the foods they consume and how they are preparing them. So even in areas of the world where we would think people would have so many fresh options they find a way to be unhealthy because as some say, ‘they eat what they can afford.”
Do you think it is possible to eat cheap but healthy?
We do it every day. I recently ate out at a local place in Kingston, Jamaica that makes Italian or vegetarian food. The cost of the meal was about USD 4, which depending on where you live in the world could be a lot of money or a small amount. Where we were it was a low price to pay for a meal and it was so healthy and tasty. But with that same USD 4 in Jamaica you could make the same meal and it would last you two days. So yes, if you take the time to really look for deals and shop fresh and local, you can have healthy food that’s inexpensive.
Which key elements should be included in a healthy breakfast?
A key element in a healthy breakfast for me is a positive attitude. When we wake up each morning we should start the day knowing we can live a great life health wise. That will allow the rest of the day to be a success. I like to keep breakfast light and simple and water is key for me. Drinking water and then making sure we have some foods that won’t weigh us down or start us off on the wrong path for the day.
What are your projects for 2014 and how do you see the fight against diabetes progressing in the coming years?
We have many big plans ahead of us. My upcoming projects are the first ever diabetes reality TV show Reversed and I have also just shot a new show called Conversation in the Kitchen which is focused on healthy eating. I have also been busy promoting my children’s book Diabetes and healthy eating and helping kids in Jamaica with healthy cooking demos. We were also happy to team up with the Diabetes Association of Jamaica to do a diabetes screening at a school where we tested over 70 staff and teachers. We will be continuing this effort and going back to the islands to educate children so that they can become informed adults.