Editorial

No mountain high enough

IDF Europe talked to Kyle Jacques Rose, professional cyclist and former rider for Team Type 1, about diabetes, sports and taking part in the Grand Tour – a bike ride from Brussels to Barcelona to raise awareness of diabetes and mobile health solutions.

Kyle Jacques Rose remembers fondly the time he spent in Aix-les-Bains, France, his hometown in the Alps. “Sports were already a major part of my life at an early age.  As a boy, I watched the Tour de France pass by my front door step.  The Mont Revard was the first ‘col’ I climbed on my bike since my family lived on the mountain itself.  My legs still remember those first 1000 meters of ascent!” says Rose.

As a teenager, he was diagnosed with diabetes.  “I was fortunate that my healthcare professionals supported my activity in sports and helped me adapt my nutrition and medication.  Adopting physical activity into my daily routine not only helped me maintain glycemic control, it became a critical part of my diabetes therapy.  Unfortunately, exercise often seems to be the forgotten medication for many affected by diabetes.”

Rose recognized that the discipline and daily focus required to manage his disease could spill over into other parts of his life. “In retrospect, being diagnosed with diabetes provided me with direction and purpose.” Just like his peers with diabetes, Rose has never been able to take a vacation from his disease. He hopes that “maybe one day, we will find a way to take that well-deserved vacation. In the mean-time, we should try hard to stay motivated and make good decisions in our daily lives regarding diet, medication, and exercise.”  

Rose’s background is quite fitting to the mhealth Grand Tour event as he studied engineering and worked in the medical device industry in parallel to his cycling. 

He believes that today’s devices, including mobile phones, offer patients with diabetes a new channel for health education and disease treatment and prevention.  “Not all of us have access to new products due to factors such as cost but I hope that will change. 

Events like the mhealth Grand Tour are essential to helping make these changes happen.  I sincerely thank the organisers, GSMA and IDF Europe, for bringing policy makers and industry together to hear the voice of the patient.” 

“I have looked at the chosen cycling route from Brussels to Barcelona and am confident it will be an amazing ride.  I hope you will join us in September!”

The Sports Issue - n°29  - 27 March 2013

Highlights

Grand Tour: The training season has begun While outdoor training might still be difficult for those of us in the North, the training season has now officially begun with the arrival of Spring. To celebrate, IDF Europe has launched a blog to share the preparation of the riders of its team. The blog will also highlight awareness-raising activities around the Tour and provide with live updates during the ride. Read More Access to medicines and medical for diabetes care in Europe: Have your say IDF Europe launches nine-month study to assess whether people living with diabetes in Europe have equal access to high quality and innovative diabetes medicines and medical devices. Read More Apply to the 2013 IDF Europe Youth Leadership Camp! If you want to meet other young people living with diabetes from all over Europe, share and learn from each other and discover more about the work of IDF Europe, then the Youth Leadership Camp is for you! Read more   IDF Europe publishes position on EU legislation on medical devices Medical devices are essential for diabetes care and management. IDF Europe calls on the new legislation to ensure the highest level of patient safety and quality of care. Read More

News from Europe

Albania: improving health outcomes through education and prevention From pharmacists to school doctors, the Albanian Diabetes Association is mobilizing all stakeholders involved in diabetes education, prevention and care to raise awareness and empower people with diabetes. Read More Biking fever gains Belgium Biking is everywhere! Before IDF Europe and associations from several countries in Europe embark on the Grand Tour this September, the Flemish Diabetes Association will climb by bike the Stelvio Pass (Passo dello Stelvio), one of the most famous passes of the Italian Giro. Read More   Croatia to hold its 11th Diabetes Congress The Croatian Diabetes Association will hold its 11th Diabetes Congress from 4 to 7 April in Dubrovnik. The 4-day international conference will focus on diabetes complications and welcome delegates from all over the region. Read More Finland: “One Life” to join forces and improve public health Empower people to take better care of their own health: this is the aim of the One Life project, an initiative carried out by the Finnish Diabetes Association and other public health stakeholders. Read More   Germany: Sports as therapy diabetesDE – German Diabetes Aid is organizing the 3rd edition of “Diabetes Programme Deutschland”, the largest diabetes running programme in the country. The initiative aims at promoting sports and physical training as an essential component of diabetes therapy. Read More   Italy: Running from the mountains to the sea If you want to run by the beautiful coastlines of the bay of Naples up to the mountains overlooking Capri, the 7th international half marathon championship of ANIAD is for you! Find out more about the sports event to be held on 14 April 2013. Read More   Kazakhstan: Improving access to care for people with type 2 diabetes The diabetes association of the Republic of Kazakhstan will launch this May a training programme for more than 200 GPs to improve access to and quality of treatment for people with type 2 diabetes. Read More   The Netherlands: Get sports advice from Olympic gold medalist Sports will be in the spotlight in the next edition of the Dutch Diabetes Association’s magazine, Diabc. Watch out for the special issue with Olympic gold medalist Bas van de Goor as editor-in-chief of their next issue. Read More   Portugal: Changing behaviours through sports APDP – the Portuguese Diabetes Association , invites us to discover 3 of their programmes that promote sports and the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle: Sports Saturdays, Physical Activity Training Courses and First Time Circuit. Read More   Serbia: Education is the key The shocking increase of diabetes rates around means this epidemic can no longer be ignored. To educate the general public, the Serbian Diabetes Association led a 2-week screening campaign this February covering 10 major cities in the country. Read More   Diabetes Peer-to-Peer: Turkey reaches out to people with diabetes The Turkish Diabetes Foundation launched an education programme providing people with diabetes the tools and network to help them improve their health outcomes, reaching out to 7000 people with diabetes. Read More

Movers & Shakers

Meet Elena Shelestova A die-hard optimist: that is probably the best adjective to describe Elena Shelestova, Executive Secretary of the Georgian Union of Diabetes and Endocrine Associations. A qualified diabetes nurse educator, Elena’s experience and involvement in diabetes go back to her youth. Read More Meet Urska Perc At 21, Urska Perc is determined to make a difference for young people living with diabetes. A passionate medicines student, this young leader from Slovenia is also the initiator of the country's first diabetes youth group. Read More