quotable quotes - November 2013

“There is no reason to have soft drinks [in the workplace] unless you want to kill your employees.”

-Dr. Michael Roizen (Chief Wellness Officer, Cleveland Clinic) on the need for CEOs to improve the health of their employees at the Cleveland Clinic Obesity Summit in Cleveland on October 16-17.

"Telling people with obesity to eat less is about as effective as telling people with depression to cheer up."

-Dr. Arya Sharma (University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada) at the Cardiometabolic Health Congress on October 2-5.

"Health is like a religion… it has to be made personal to be sustainable.”

-Paul Buchanan (CEO TeamBG, Great Britain, UK) on the importance of personal motivation for good health at the 49th Annual European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Barcelona on September 23-27.

 “When your glucoses are at goal – take credit. When they’re out of range, blame the diabetes and try to make better decisions tomorrow.”

-Dr. Howard Wolpert (Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston) at the first Mental Health Issues of Diabetes Conference in Philadelphia on October 7-8.

"The real solution is when healthcare is integrated into people's lives rather than when people are integrated into our health system."

-Dr. Zeev Neuwirth (Carolinas Healthcare) at Diabetes Innovation 2013 in Washington DC on October 3-5.

 “We need to get these clinical trials in locations where they are accessible to low income communities… I cannot even tell you where to find a clinical trial. I’m very active in the online community and very empowered, but I cannot tell you where to go. We need more information going to the people.”

- Cherise Shockley (Diabetes Community Advocacy Foundation) at the Partners in Patient Health Diabetes Innovation Summit on October 23. Cherise made several widely-praised suggestions at the Summit, including a diabetes trial bus and a diabetes trial fair. Hear more from Cherise on Wednesdays at 9 pm EST on Twitter at #dsma.

“How do we motivate patients to become involved in research? If you’re trying to grow mushrooms, it works well to keep them in the dark. But if you want to enroll me in your trial, tell me what you’re going to do with the data.”

– Bennet Dunlap (Strip Safely; Your Diabetes May Vary) at the Partners in Patient Health Diabetes Innovation Summit.