Ironman Canada - August 2006
As you probably know, I am training for Ironman Canada to be held August 27, 2006 (God help me). I will be racing as part of Team Diabetes and have committed to raising funds for the Diabetes Association of Canada.
Over 2 million Canadians have diabetes. What you have most likely already heard is that "Type 2" diabetes is on the rise, which none of us can be surprised with, given our increasingly poorer diets and more sedentary lifestyles. What I was not aware of until recently, however, is that only 10% of those stricken by the disease suffer from Type 1 diabetes (a much smaller percentage suffer from gestational diabetes). Type 2 diabetes is indeed on the rise and, unfortunately, our aging population and increasingly poorer lifestyles continue to encourage the discouraging statistics.
If you know me, you know how important health and an active lifestyle are (OK, yes, I love to eat more than what might be considered proper but I do a lot to burn it off!). It is sad that so many people, children especially, suffer a largely preventable disease by poor choices in everyday behaviour; diabetes is a disease that is largely understood and, while we know what can be done to prevent it, we don't, either through ignorance or because it is not taken as seriously as it should be. Diabetes may not be as gory a disease as some others that we have a harder time understanding, but it is scary enough when you consider that dealing with complications of diabetes costs our healthcare system over $13 billion per year and costs people suffering from it a more difficult - and shorter - life.
Please visit www.diabetes.ca to learn more about diabetes and what the Diabetes Association of Canada is doing about it. If you wish to donate to this cause and would like to do so on my behalf, please visit http://www.diabetes.ca/section_donations/TeamDiabetesIndex.asp and select "Pledge A Participant". I am listed under "TD Ironman Canada - Penticton - Aug/2006". Many thanks for your support in this regard but, if you have been sent the link to my blog, more special thanks for your support to date.
Over 2 million Canadians have diabetes. What you have most likely already heard is that "Type 2" diabetes is on the rise, which none of us can be surprised with, given our increasingly poorer diets and more sedentary lifestyles. What I was not aware of until recently, however, is that only 10% of those stricken by the disease suffer from Type 1 diabetes (a much smaller percentage suffer from gestational diabetes). Type 2 diabetes is indeed on the rise and, unfortunately, our aging population and increasingly poorer lifestyles continue to encourage the discouraging statistics.
If you know me, you know how important health and an active lifestyle are (OK, yes, I love to eat more than what might be considered proper but I do a lot to burn it off!). It is sad that so many people, children especially, suffer a largely preventable disease by poor choices in everyday behaviour; diabetes is a disease that is largely understood and, while we know what can be done to prevent it, we don't, either through ignorance or because it is not taken as seriously as it should be. Diabetes may not be as gory a disease as some others that we have a harder time understanding, but it is scary enough when you consider that dealing with complications of diabetes costs our healthcare system over $13 billion per year and costs people suffering from it a more difficult - and shorter - life.
Please visit www.diabetes.ca to learn more about diabetes and what the Diabetes Association of Canada is doing about it. If you wish to donate to this cause and would like to do so on my behalf, please visit http://www.diabetes.ca/section_donations/TeamDiabetesIndex.asp and select "Pledge A Participant". I am listed under "TD Ironman Canada - Penticton - Aug/2006". Many thanks for your support in this regard but, if you have been sent the link to my blog, more special thanks for your support to date.
posted by DRL at 10:47 PM
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