Diabetes Awareness Month Ends With Nationwide Events

Held in November each year, Diabetes Awareness Month had a multitude of events nationwide to celebrate the 2014 occasion. Internationally, World Diabetes Day was November 14, 2014.

While most headlines were serious about helping people get the pre-diabetes testing they need to stay diabetes-free, some fringe topics included how Nick Jonas fights diabetes with the Paleo Diet. Regardless, a majority of national celebrations were parties or events that invited the public to be entertained while they were educated on Diabetes Awareness Month.

Diabetes.org produced a long list of promotion materials for Diabetes Awareness Month, and the 2014 advertising includes the program “Get Cooking to Stop Diabetes.” The American Diabetes Association is championing the program, and the celebrity faces of the program are DJ Spinderella of Salt-n-Pepa, and Robyn Webb, Food Editor for ‘Diabetes Forecast.’

To promote Diabetes Awareness Month, organizations related to the disease encouraged local communities to cook food that was healthy for preventing diabetes. Following the suggestions by diabetes awareness organizations to promote healthy eating are chefs like the showcase that was organized in Reno, Nevada.

Intended to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, top chefs from the Reno area created a diabetes-friendly menu. Fox 11 Reno reported that diabetic dessert dishes included dark chocolate pot de crème, apple sorbet, port poached pear with frosted almonds, and a house-made sugar free cookies ‘n cream cheesecake.

The need for focus on Diabetes Awareness Month is attested by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC wrote a detailed report about Diabetes Awareness Month for 2014.

“two out of every five Americans are expected to develop type 2 diabetes during their lifetime. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes; one in four doesn’t know. 86 million adults – more than one in three U.S. adults – have pre-diabetes, where their blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as Type 2 diabetes.”

Diabetes awareness prompted press releases from state agencies like the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In their statement to the public in regards to the 2014 Diabetes Awareness Month celebrations, they stated that they are”urging Pennsylvanians to take control of their health through screenings for diabetes, an often preventable disease and Pennsylvania’s seventh-leading cause of death.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Health hosted a World Diabetes Day event in the capitol that provided free screenings for blood sugar and diabetic neuropathy. They also enlisted a former Pittsburgh Steelers player from their Super Bowl XL win, Kendall Simmons, to talk about his own experience with Type 2 diabetes.

Organizations like the Lions Club for Preventing Blindness rallied around activities surrounding diabetes awareness in November because diabetes is a leading cause of blindness. The Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota reported that the Lions Club throughout the eastern part of the state was encouraging locals to wear a blue glove throughout the day to raise awareness for diabetes. On World Diabetes Day, they celebrated the ‘Blue Glove Challenge’ as their way of raising diabetes awareness.

Some cities, like Seattle, have well-organized Diabetes Awareness Month focus that affects multiple parts of the city. The Seattle Seahawks announced it would join the awareness-building for diabetes in November, 2014 by lighting the stadium with blue lights. Player Cliff Avril spoke to local Seattle media agency Evening Magazine on the importance of diabetes awareness in his own life because of his family history.

The World Diabetes Day Seattle Facebook page posted about how several events that took place in Washington to get people involved in diabetes awareness. The pinnacle was the event hosted at the Pacific Science Center on November 14. Activities and presentations included a marching band, Zumba dancers, Blitz, the Seahawks mascot, a night of dancing, and free giveaways.

All pictures and media in this article are from the linked sources.