Is wanting to prevent needless deaths something that the world cares about?

As I have written on numerous occasions in this blog and the series for the British Journal of Sports Medicine- the world is facing the biggest threat through non communicable diseases (NCDs or long term disease conditions LTC's) that it has ever seen. NCDs are diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, hypertension (high blood pressure) and osteoporosis. These diseases account for 36 million global deaths and are predicted to cost the world $47 TRILLION by 2030. 

The trouble is that the human cost is incalculable: NCDs cause:

Loss of life

Loved one's left grieving

Disease and poor health

Pain

Disability

Immobility

Other life threatening diseases

Significant loss of quality of life and sharing things with family and friends

and affect nations, communities and individuals in a way that robs them of the richness and diversity that life itself brings- whatever circumstances they survive in...

This threat is so worrying that the World Health Organization called an International conference on the issue- only the second time in it's history since the AIDS epidemic that it has done so...

As a health professional, this is of huge concern, for the ordinary person with loved ones, family and friends this is an 'unacceptable outcome for 21st century medicine and world caring'.

Today I'd like to highlight the unavoidable deaths in the UK:

39, 000 PREVENTABLE deaths in the UK from NCDs alone should matter to people in the UK!

These needless deaths are caused by PHYSICAL INACTIVITY.

They do not take into account the PREVENTABLE deaths from some other diseases and conditions such as falls and osteoporosis...

If the UK was told that in 2013 we would loose 39,000 citizens- you'd think as a nation we would be mobilising every effort to help these people access quality exercise support and opportunities to get active......

As I've said before....

We need every health professional in the UK, and the rest of the world to help patients, people, communities and nations to...

MOVE TO BETTER HEALTH AND SAY 'NO THANKS' to preventable diseases!

And while we are collaborating as a nation on this pandemic, maybe we can offer our skills and learning to help other nations fight the same battle on NCDs. After all, the UK prides itself on our health care system and skills... it's time to help others....

Ann Gates, Founder of Exercise Works! ... and on a mission to help prevent some needless deaths through inactivity.... who is going to help me?!

Living life- Just for the challenge via @4thechallenge

Guest blog by @4thechallenge : Living Life  – Just for the Challenge!

When Justin Miles had a car accident 13 years ago he had no idea just how much it would change his life. Having established himself first as a personal trainer and then as a management consultant to the fitness industry, Justin was on his way to a training course when he was involved in a car accident. The resulting brain injuries left him having to learn basic functions from scratch, including walking and talking. 

Falling back to the lessons he learned as a trainer, Justin knew that he had to have a firm objective to aim for if he was to make a full recovery. 

Ambitiously, before he could even stand up, Justin had decided that he wanted to turn his passion for adventure in to a professions as an ‘explorer’ and use his experiences to encourage people to live healthier and more active lives. 

Justin turned his dream in to a tangible objective, developed SMART goals and then set about turning his dream in to a reality. Now, thirteen years on, Justin undertakes challenges and adventures all over the world in polar, mountain, desert and jungle regions and uses his experiences to fuel an education initiative for primary schools, the ‘Schools Explorer’. 

After running several national health and fitness campaigns for adults and teenagers using his expeditions as a springboard for activity, Justin uses the ‘Schools explorer’ initiative to encourage primary aged children to make healthy choices and lead active lives. The programme is written by professionals to follow the national curriculum in a range of subjects such as literacy, numeracy, history and geography and with a very strong influence on encouraging activity through games and challenges. 

As well as having an immediate effect with the children taking part in the initiative, there is a considerable ‘knock –on’ effect as children get their families involved with increased outdoor activity and modified food choices. 

When asked about how he thinks the programme has an effect, Justin  said “Children seem to get excited by what I do; it’s different. Stories of polar bears, cold nights, giant spiders and hot days switches on their imaginations and opens them up to new ideas about activity and diet and actually get’s them out there trying new things.” 

Justin’s challenges are quite varied and never fail to capture the imaginations of young minds from kayaking across England from Bristol to London, to attempting his most recent expedition walk to the North Pole via a new route in Arctic winter. Facing temperatures as low as minus fifty and complete darkness Justin ran in to problems when a slip on the frozen sea ice pulling a load of 450kg ripped a hole in the cartilage running down the middle of his abs. The injury lead to a hernia which required emergency treatment and an abrupt end to the expedition. 

Justin’s next trip to the Arctic takes place this August when a team will attempt the first ever stand-up paddleboard expedition in Arctic waters. The expedition is just one part of the ‘Polar Bears and paddleboards’ project which aims to encourage people to make use of Britain’s inland waterways as a resource for active recreation and outdoor fitness training. 

‘Seeing the results, seeing children getting more active and having fun with it gives me the passion and the drive to do what I do. When I’m sat in a tent after a hard day, cold, hungry and very tired, knowing that the schools project is working makes a huge amount of difference to my morale”. 

To find out more about Justin and his projects please visit the websites below

Greenland SUP Expedition 2013 from Polar Bears & Paddleboards on Vimeo.

In August 2013 a group of nine will head to the Arctic waters of Greenland in an attempt to be the first people to Stand Up Paddleboard to one of the largest glaciers in the world.....

Visit the website for more information about the project and expedition. http://www.polarbearsandpaddleboards.com/

Follow us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polarbearsandpaddleboards
And on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PolarBearandSUP

For press and sponsorship enquiries please contact: info@polarbearsandpaddleboards.com

Footage courtesy of Greenland.com - http://www.greenland.com
Edited by Justin Hankinson - http://www.pbshowfolio.com/justinhankinson

http://www.justforthechallenge.com 

http://www.polarbearsandpaddleboards.com/  

http://tteducation.co.uk/SchoolExplorer.aspx

Blog moderated by Ann Gates, Founder of Exercise Works!

Latest blog via @roddyriddle before the Marathon Des Sables 2013

Guest blog via @roddyriddle

Depending on when you read this I am either in Morocco pre Marathon Des Sables (MDS) or if you've not got round to reading it till Sunday then I will have started the toughest foot race in World as the first type 1 diabetic to have done so. 
From Sundays 1st stage anyone wanting to email me abuse etc whilst I am doing the MDS go to http://www.darbaroud.com/en/ write to a competitor, I am number 577, I can receive unlimited emails although I can only send one a day, no pictures only text, might need cheering up so the more I get the merrier!

I was honored this week to have had David Stewart MSP lodge a motion in the Scottish Parliament to note my efforts as a type 1 diabetic running the MDS for diabetes awareness and for raising money for JDRFUK and Diabetes UK.
I also got a great send off from Britain's greatest ever Olympian Sir Chris Hoy on Twitter which read "All the best to @RoddyRiddle next week as he takes on the massive challenge of the Marathon Des Sables, raising money for Diabetes UK." -- Chris Hoy (@chrishoy)

Next time I write my blog I will (fingers, toes etc crossed) have successfully completed the MDS! The information that diabetic Doctors and specialists will gain from having my blood glucose levels for 24 hours a day for the full duration of the race, thanks to the continuous glucose monitor I be using. will hopefully help fellow diabetics to do exercise in the future.
If you want to hear how it all went providing I come back in one piece you can join myself and Inverness Courier columnist Nicky Marr on 16th May at Eden Court Theatre, all profits from the evening going to my two chosen charities JDRFUK and Diabetes UK.

Guest blog moderated by

Ann Gates, Founder of Exercise Works!

Roddy- all the very best of luck in the Marathon Des Sables! I can't believe it was 2 years ago when we were first discussing what you could do to help raise the profile of exercise for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.... looking forward to getting your daily updates (albeit 1 email at a time!) ~Ann