Help us Fight Diabetes and help your students.

Why should you do that and how can we help each other Fight Diabetes?

 How you can help Fight Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented. The starting focus for prevention needs to be on Type 2 diabetes in youth but with equal attention to preventing diabetes-related complications for youth living with either type of diabetes.

  1. Understand diabetes and the risks and share that information with your students
  2. Encourage your students to take our online, self-scoring diabetes risk test and discuss the results with family members and seek further testing from a healthcare professional if the results suggest the need.
  3. Consider doing the same for yourself using similar questionnaires for adults.
  4. Encourage your students to take our free, self-paced e-Learning course, Understanding Diabetes.
  5. Help students to understand ‘healthy eating’ and the importance of regular exercise.
  6. Schedule a School Tour to our Diabetes Management and Education Centre in Alliston, Ontario at the historic birthplace of Sir Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin and Canada’s first Nobel Laureate. Transportation subsidies are available.

..and, if your students are living with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, then the added focus is to:

  1. Help students reduce their risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
  2. Help students to understand the implications of ‘Transition’ from the pediatric to adult healthcare system and the need to ‘get ready’ well in advance.
  3. Understand, and advocate for, essential ‘in school support’ processes available for a youth living with diabetes and what your role has to be to ensure a safe and fully engaged daily school experience for the student.

How SFBLF can help you Fight Diabetes

We provide help for your students:

  • Online risk assessment tools and access to e-Learning courses for youth designed to raise awareness, understand diabetes and encourage early detection. Tutorials explaining transition and the challenges for youth living with diabetes at school are also available. Please explore the links to our programs and tutorials on this website.
  • School Tours – for grades 4 to 12, a free, educational, inspirational visit to the historic birthplace of Sir Frederick Banting to learn about diabetes and related risk, how to protect oneself against developing Type 2 diabetes and complications for both Type 1 and Type 2, the discovery of insulin and the medical heroes who made that discovery, and the related Canadian history and heritage. Transportation subsidies are available.
  • Our content is adjusted to be age-appropriate and designed to complement the expected outcomes of the Ontario school system for health, science, history and heritage.
  • Annual awards that include scholarships and bursaries for youth living with diabetes and recognition awards for adults who have achieved 50+ years on insulin.

We provide help for you:

  • Annual Transition Symposium for healthcare providers, teachers, parents and other foundations, held in November, involves international experts and group discussions.
  • Mental Health & Diabetes in Youth – a self-paced, narrated e-Learning course for healthcare providers and teachers to broaden understanding of this growing combination in youth.
  • A list of suggested project ideas for your students is included below.
  • Diabetes Classes for Adults who are living with, or trying to prevent, diabetes.
  • Group Tours – present an opportunity for an educational, inspirational ‘team building’ event at the historic birthplace of Sir Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin and Canada’s first Nobel Laureate.
    Organizations have used the program for full- and half-day ‘retreats’ including meals. BBQ facilities are available and SFBLF will assist with establishing catering services to meet your needs. The restored, historic octagonal Drive Shed provides a unique shelter and support for presentations, discussion and meals. Picnic tables are available on the grounds.
    The Banting Legacy Trail and related outdoor exercise equipment provide an opportunity for a relaxing break. There is no charge for use of the facilities or for the presentations and guided tour provided by SFBLF. Donations are welcome.
  • Public Open Hours are available every Tuesday and the 1st & 3rd weekends of each month.

For more information, please explore the details on this web site or contact us at info@bantinglegacy.ca

Why should you help Fight Diabetes?

“Type 2 diabetes in childhood has the potential to become a global public health issue leading to serious health outcomes. More information ….  is needed urgently”
IDF World Diabetes Atlas, 8th edition, Nov 2017 (p 60)

  1. The scale of the Diabetes Pandemic
  • As of November 2017, there are over 425 million adults (20 – 79) living with diabetes worldwide and the number is increasing at a rate of at least 5 million per year. Another 352 million adults are living with pre-diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance.
  • Diabetes prevalence varies widely by country. In Canada, it is estimated there are 3.5 million adults living with diabetes and another 8 million with prediabetes. The number of diagnosed cases in Canada is estimated to rise 41% by 2026
  • It is estimated also that there are over 30,000 Canadian youth age 18 and under living with Type 1 diabetes.
  • The number of children and youth living with Type 2 diabetes is not known but there is broad agreement the numbers are rising as is the case in many other countries. The rise in Type 2 diabetes in youth is strongly correlated with being over-weight or obese and an inactive life-style.
  1. The nature and severity of Type 2 Diabetes
  • Approximately 90% of diabetes cases in adults are Type 2.
  • It is estimated that 70% of Type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or at least delayed by healthy eating, modest daily exercise, maintaining an appropriate body weight and not smoking.
  • 40% of those living with Type 2 diabetes do not know they have it
  • Type 2 diabetes is insidious and progressive and can remain invisible for years. At time of diagnosis, cell damage can be in progress thus hastening the onset of serious diabetes-related complications. Such complications include heart disease, eye disease, kidney disease, depression and nerve damage that can lead to amputations.
  1. The cost of diabetes
  • The general diabetes pandemic impacts not just the patients and their families but also school systems, healthcare systems, employers, countries and medical education curricula.
  • From 2006 to 2017, the estimated annual diabetes healthcare expenditure worldwide has grown from USD 232 billion to USD 727 billion.
  • The cost of diabetes to the Canadian economy is estimated at $14 billion annually and is expected to reach at least $17 billion by 2020.

Student Project Ideas based on the content of this website

  1. Essay topics:
  • Discovery of Insulin
  • Key dates in the life of Sir Frederick Banting
  • Comparison of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
  • Homeostasis and glucose level control
  • Challenges at school for youth living with diabetes
  • Transition from pediatric to adult healthcare
  1. Short website ‘scavenger hunts’
  • find the details for selected dates in the evolution of the Banting farmstead or in the discovery of insulin
  • find descriptions of the 4 medical heroes who discovered insulin
  • find the number of Canadians who have won a Nobel Prize
  1. Action item ‘homework’
  • Take the free Understanding Diabetes e-Learning course
  • Take the Type 2 Diabetes Risk Self-Assessment online, ‘self-scoring’ test