Twenty-Thousand People Take Big Blue Test to Lower Blood Glucose and Raise Money for Diabetes Charities

On World Diabetes Day in San Francisco, Manny Hernandez of the Diabetes Hands Foundation (DHF) announced that the DHF had exceeded its goal to get 20,000 people to take the Big Blue Test in 2012 (currently 23,825 tests have been logged!). Launched in 2009, the Big Blue Test has grown into a global campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of exercise for people with diabetes and to help support diabetes charities in the process. Those taking the test simply need to check their blood sugar, then exercise for 14 to 20 minutes, and then recheck their blood sugar afterward. The DHF reports that participants’ blood sugar drops an average of 20% after even that short period of exercise. Here at diaTribe, we can definitely attest to the efficacy of the Big Blue Test – it works! For more information on how to take the test, as well as many inspiring videos detailing the benefits of the test, check out BigBlueTest.org. More information on the Diabetes Hands Foundation is available at their website.

While an estimated 10,000 people took the test in 2010 and 2011, the DHF set this year’s participation goal at 20,000, asking people to participate regardless of whether they have diabetes. (Participants without diabetes simply had to do the 14-20 minutes of exercise, not test their blood sugar.) This drive for the maximum number of participants is no accident – Roche Diabetes Care pledged to donate $5 for each entry logged at BigBlueTest.org. The successful completion of the DHF goal means that Roche will donate $100,000 to various humanitarian diabetes charities in the United States, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Haiti. This new funding will help these charities provide urgently needed diabetes supplies, tests, treatment, and education to those who need them most. —AW