Go Blue for Breakfast!

The World Diabetes Day 2014 campaign is asking everyone to GO BLUE FOR BREAKFAST in November by organising a healthy breakfast activity in your local community to highlight the importance of eating healthy to help prevent type 2 diabetes and avoid the serious complications of the disease.

You can join the campaign by:

• Getting your friends, family, colleagues or members of your organisation together and asking them to join you for a healthy breakfast to mark World Diabetes Day on 14 November.
   
• Identifying a public place in your town or city where the breakfast could be held. If possible, choose a well-known location to engage the wider public and attract media interest.
   
• Ensuring that all participants at the breakfast wear blue, the colour of the blue circle - the global symbol for diabetes awareness. The International Diabetes Federation has a selection of blue-branded materials that you can choose from.

Once your activity is confirmed you can submit it on our custom online platform - http://goblueforbreakfast.worlddiabetesday.org - so that it can be shared with the global community.

All Go Blue for Breakfast events submitted will be displayed on our global map and the number of participants will go towards filling the blue circle in the centre of the platform. Help us reach the largest total possible in support of the 382 million people with diabetes and the many more at risk.

Submit your healthy breakfast!

Our Go Blue for Breakfast platform will also promote the importance of starting the day with a healthy breakfast by showcasing recipes from around the world. If you have a healthy recipe that you would like to share with the global community, you can submit it online by listing the ingredients, measurements and cooking method and providing a picture. Recipes from Argentina, Mexico and Spain have already been submitted.

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To kick-off the Go Blue for Breakfast campaign we are pleased to feature an interview with celebrity chef and IDF Blue Circle Champion Charles Mattocks, who is very active in promoting the importance of eating healthy, particularly among children and youth.

You are working really hard to educate and inspire people around the world. Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration now comes from another place. When I was a baby in diabetes it came from wanting to carve my place as an advocate. Now it comes from seeing people with diabetes that at times have very little and just need a helping hand. I recently met a woman in Jamaica that I was shooting for my film, who had just lost her job and was about to lose her home as a result of issues that her diabetes had caused. So now it’s about the faces that are hurting not just from the condition but the aftermath.

The 2014 campaign is focusing on healthy eating and diabetes. How important is it to have a healthy lifestyle and eat healthy?

Eating, as we have heard, is your medicine and the more I travel and see the role food plays it’s so key. Healthy foods in my opinion are 80 percent of the issue. Many people do a lot of walking because they have no choice but their diets are so bad because they are not aware of the effect of the foods they consume and how they are preparing them. So even in areas of the world where we would think people would have so many fresh options they find a way to be unhealthy because as some say, 'they eat what they can afford."

Do you think it is possible to eat cheap but healthy?

We do it every day. I recently ate out at a local place in Kingston, Jamaica that makes Italian or vegetarian food. The cost of the meal was about USD 4, which depending on where you live in the world could be a lot of money or a small amount. Where we were it was a low price to pay for a meal and it was so healthy and tasty. But with that same USD 4 in Jamaica you could make the same meal and it would last you two days. So yes, if you take the time to really look for deals and shop fresh and local, you can have healthy food that’s inexpensive.

Which key elements should be included in a healthy breakfast?

A key element in a healthy breakfast for me is a positive attitude. When we wake up each morning we should start the day knowing we can live a great life health wise. That will allow the rest of the day to be a success.  I like to keep breakfast light and simple and water is key for me. Drinking water and then making sure we have some foods that won’t weigh us down or start us off on the wrong path for the day.

What are your projects for 2014 and how do you see the fight against diabetes progressing in the coming years?

We have many big plans ahead of us. My upcoming projects are the first ever diabetes reality TV show Reversed and I have also just shot a new show called Conversation in the Kitchen which is focused on healthy eating. I have also been busy promoting my children's book Diabetes and healthy eating and helping kids in Jamaica with healthy cooking demos.  We were also happy to team up with the Diabetes Association of Jamaica to do a diabetes screening at a school where we tested over 70 staff and teachers. We will be continuing this effort and going back to the islands to educate children so that they can become informed adults.

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Campaign poster now available

A new World Diabetes Day campaign poster is now available, promoting the message that “Healthy eating begins with breakfast.” The poster is available for download in English, French and Spanish and can soon be requested in print from the World Diabetes Day website.

If you would like the poster in your local language(s), please translate the following texts and send the translations to wdd@idf.org:

• Diabetes
• Healthy eating begins with breakfast
• Diabetes: protect our future
• World Diabetes Day – 14 November

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Campaign activities

Many organizations around the world are already planning activities and events linked to the World Diabetes Day 2014 theme.

In Peru, members of ADINA recently met to discuss this year´s campaign and are planning activities in the next months to educate people with diabetes about healthy eating and what a healthy plate should consist of. The association will be organising a public healthy breakfast activity in November to mark WDD.

In Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina, the Sanatorio Santa Rosa medical centre recently organised a workshop based on the theme ‘Healthy eating and diabetes’ and is planning more activities to promote the theme. The video of their first workshop is available online at www.bajauncambio2014.blogspot.com.ar.

Please share with us any information of events and activities linked to this year campaign that have already taken place or will take place in the future so we can share them with the wider diabetes community.

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The information in this newsletter is intended for information purposes only. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of IDF. Through this newsletter, you may link to third-party websites, which are not under IDF’s control. The inclusion of such links does not imply a recommendation or an endorsement by IDF of any material, information, products and services advertised on third-party websites, and IDF disclaims any liability with regard to your access of such linked websites and use of any products or services advertised there.

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