Take 371 Million Steps for Diabetes

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is holding the Take a Step for Diabetes campaign to increase awareness for diabetes. This “step” can be a variety of actions, all of which are designed to help others learn about diabetes or improve physical fitness. IDF’s goal is to reach 371 million steps by the World Diabetes Congress in Melbourne, Australia on December 2-6. Each of those steps represents one of the estimated 371 million people living with diabetes in the world.

The activities can be done individually or in groups, and the steps can be small (e.g., wearing blue for diabetes or committing to exercise more often) or grow into larger events (e.g., holding a flash mob in your community or lighting a building blue). Each step counts for a number of points, and you can track yours and others’ points when you register on the IDF’s site. Remember to take a picture or record a video (we’re really getting into Vine!) so that you can share your efforts with the global diabetes community.– MN/AB