On the eve of the start of the 74th edition of the Tour de Pologne, a press conference was held at Krakow City Hall under the slogan: We race with diabetes. How to move the horizons of diabetes in Poland?
Participants included Team Novo Nordisk athletes, representatives of patient organisations and members of the Parliamentary Group for Diabetes. In addition to discussing the role of sport in the treatment and prevention of the disease, guests debated the improvement of the situation of patients and possible systemic changes, including the implementation of the National Programme for the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetes in Poland.
At the press meeting, representatives of patient organisations stressed that only the integration of patients, the medical community and public administration could lead to systemic solutions in the treatment of diabetes and its complications and prevent further cases of type two diabetes. Members of the Parliamentary Group for Diabetes, Ryszard Bartosik and Ewa Kołodziej, who were present at the meeting, announced further efforts to implement the National Diabetes Prevention and Treatment Programme, which includes, among other things, the establishment of a National Diabetes Register and the creation of a nationwide network of Diabetes Education Centres.
To emphasise the importance of diabetes education and prevention, the organisers of the 'We are racing with diabetes' campaign organised a free blood sugar testing event on the day of the start of the Tour de Pologne race (29.07) at Krakow's Błonia. In total, more than 1,000 people underwent measurement, and pre-diabetes was detected in around 5% of them. This shows the scale of the problem and the importance of the activities carried out in this area.