The theme for this year’s World Diabetes Day was Diabetes in Children and Adolescents. That is exactly what caught my attention.
The World Diabetes Day recognizes the global scale of the diabetes epidemic. Organized each year on November 14 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization, this day is also the official United Nations World Health Day. One of the cool things about this campaign is that hundreds of well-known monuments all across the world are lit in blue on this day, which is also the color of the World Diabetes Day logo. The pictures of the more than 1000 monuments that were lit this year are simply breathtaking. I am posting a few of my favorites; for the complete list, go to World Diabetes Day gallery.
Here are few facts I did not know:
- November 14 is the birthday of Frederick Banting, a Canadian medical scientist, who discovered insulin in 1921. He won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923 for his achievement.
- It is well-known that more than 250 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes. What is less known is the fact that the type 1 diabetes is rapidly increasing in pre-school children at 5% annually. Unfortunately, it is not well-understood and there is no way to prevent it.
- Type 2 diabetes is now reported in children as young as 8 years old. According to the IDF:“Global studies have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented by enabling individuals to lose 7-10% of their body weight, and by increasing their physical activity to a modest level“. Think about this for a moment – this disease is totally preventable! It is all about nutrition and lifestyle.
There are other scary statistics, but I don’t want to go into that. You can get a lot of information from CDC’s website. For now, I just want to enjoy these beautiful pictures! You can also find them on Flickr.
Niagara-Falls - by Screechydialup |
Roman Temple, Evora, Portugal - by international diabetes federation |
PB111166 London Eye - by mike.felton |
Four Freedoms Monument Evansville IN USA - by international diabetes federation |
Great Buddah of Kotokuin Kanagawa Japan - by international diabetes federation |
European Parlement Strasbourg - by patrick_wdd_france |
Sydney Opera House - by international diabetes federation |
Bosphorus Bridge Istanbul - by international diabetes federation |
PB091135 Shell WDD 14 Nov - by mike.felton |
