‘It’s a family thing!’ – ISA online campaign for World Diabetes Day 2019
Brussels, 14th November 2019: The International Sweeteners Association (ISA) proudly presents its new campaign in support of the Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day (WDD) today for an eighth consecutive year, with the release of an inspirational video painting the portrait of Gisèle, a patient living with diabetes. Entitled “Life with diabetes can be tasty: Gisèle’s story”, this video was developed as part of the ISA two-year campaign for WDD and with the scientific support of the European Specialist Dietetic Network for Diabetes (ESDN) of the European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD). Also endorsed by the Arabic Association for the Study of Diabetes and Metabolism (AASD), the Federación Española de Diabetes (FEDE – Spanish diabetes federation), the Sociedade Brasileira de Alimentação e Nutrição (SBAN – Brazilian Society for Food and Nutrition) and the Associação Nacional de Atenção ao Diabetes (ANAD – Brazilian diabetes association), this video aims to raise awareness about the importance of the family and its role in supporting people with diabetes in their daily management of this chronic disease.
Diabetes is a serious non-communicable disease (NCD) and a major global public health challenge:1,2
- 1-in-11 adults have diabetes, and the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise by over 22% by 2030;
- Over 1 million children and adolescents have type 1 diabetes;
- 1 in 6 births is affected by high blood glucose in pregnancy;
- Diabetes can lead to serious health complications;
- Diabetes is responsible for high health expenditure worldwide;
- Over 50% of type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Within the context of the two-year theme for diabetes awareness month and World Diabetes Day (WDD), “The Family and Diabetes”, and in line with the International Diabetes Federation’s (IDF) related key messages, the WDD 2019 campaign “Diabetes: protect your family” aims to raise awareness on the impact that diabetes has on the family. It further aims to promote the crucial role of family members in supporting the detection, prevention, management, care of, and education on the condition, including by encouraging the adoption of a healthy diet and lifestyle.1
‘Life with diabetes can be tasty: Gisèle’s story’
Being core to the ISA to continue supporting such important awareness days, the ISA is proud to release this year’s campaign which highlights the impact of diabetes on the whole family, but also and especially the importance of the family and its role in supporting people with diabetes in their daily management of this chronic disease. Through the portrait of Gisèle and the interview with dietitian Haris Dimosthenopoulos, MMedSci.SRD, Lead of EFAD’s ESDN Diabetes, the ISA aims to remind everyone that it is possible to live a tasty life while keeping diabetes under control. Watch the ISA video below (also available through this link) and read more about ISA campaign for WDD 2019 here. Also engage in the conversation about Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day 2019, and share this video on social media by using #WorldDiabetesDay and #ISA4WDD.
Diabetes is manageable!
Managing your blood glucose level and preventing diabetes-related complications is possible. Actually, the majority of type 2 diabetes cases is preventable and complications can be avoided with proper care, which includes nutritional and lifestyle changes as key priorities.3
Indeed, following a healthy and balanced diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle can help you prevent your risk of type 2 diabetes, and help you manage your diabetes. For example, limiting your family’s sugar intake is important. In this context, low/no calorie sweeteners can offer a safe and useful alternative to sugar for people with or at risk of diabetes, as they provide sweet taste with fewer/ no calories and without affecting blood glucose level. Also remember that regular exercise is key: go for a walk, a ride or a swim with your partner, siblings or friends, or play with the younger family members, or in three words: enjoy being active!
Early detection of your family’s risk of diabetes is essential too: encourage your family members to take the Test2Prevent, an online tool to find out about the risk of type 2 diabetes.
For more information on ISA activities for WDD, please click here.
