World Diabetes Day 2011: Hula Hooping in San Francisco’s Union Square and 531 Monuments Lit Blue Around the World
By Adam Brown
The diaTribe team had an outstanding evening in San Francisco for World Diabetes Day on November 14, which included blue hula hooping in Union Square. (For those who aren’t familiar, the blue circle is the International Diabetes Federation’s symbol for diabetes.) With the help of sponsors Abbott Diabetes Care and J&J LifeScan and co-organizers JDRF,ADA, the Diabetes Hands Foundation, DiabetesMine, UCSF, CPMC, and diaTribe, more than 200 people gathered in an attempt to beat the Guinness Book of World Records for largest hula-hoop workout at one time (the current record is 113 people). The festivities featured ample music, ice skating, and an amazing hula-hoop routine from professional Matt Plindle. We also enjoyed hearing from Manny Hernandez and taking part in the Big Blue Test along with 8,000 other people across the planet: (1) test your blood sugar; (2) get active for 14 minutes; (3) test your blood sugar again. Paul Madden’s inspirational words, wisdom, and humor were also valuable, coming from nearly 50 years with type 1 diabetes.
This year’s World Diabetes Day featured 531 monuments lit blue in 61 countries to raise global awareness about diabetes. Here in the US, 38 monuments were lit, including the Washington Monument and the Empire State Building. We always enjoy taking part in World Diabetes Day, not only to raise awareness of its global prevalence (now estimated at 366 million people around the world), but to remember that diabetes does not limit what any of us is capable of accomplishing. –AB
