York U. diabetes study is a worldwide first, professor says.
Delaney Hill, left, and Natalie Mangialardi at York University during the 2009 diabetes sports camp held at York University. This year's event kicks off July 19.
Staff file photo/LISA QUEEN
York University professor Michael Riddell is working hard to reverse the natural tendency of parents of children with juvenile diabetes to keep their youngsters on the sidelines.
He understands their fears.
Participating in sports can lower the blood sugar levels of people with Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes.
As opposed to Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with inactivity and obesity, Type 1 diabetes is not preventable and requires ongoing injections of insulin.
The mild symptoms of low blood sugar, called hypoglycemia, include paleness, sweating, trembling, a feeling of weakness, difficulty concentrating and a rapid heartbeat.
But if levels get extremely low, the person can experience blurred vision, loss of consciousness, convulsions and even coma and death. The easiest thing for the parents of children with Type 1 diabetes is to restrict their offsprings' participation in active sports.
But Riddell said exercise is important for people with Type 1 diabetes. Studies indicate keeping active can add as much as 10 years to their lives and reduce the chance of complications of diabetes.
"We know exercise is critical. We just have to make sure they can do it safely," said Riddell, a world renowned diabetes and exercise physiologist and associate professor at York's faculty of health.
Riddell, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 14 and regularly engages in competitive sports, runs an elite summer sports camp at the university.
About a third to half of the campers have Type 1 diabetes and the camp teaches them how exercise can be used to better manage their disease.
On the eve of this year's camp, which began Monday, July 19, Riddell's team of researchers published a study in the International Journal of Pediatrics looking at the interaction of sports and blood sugar levels.
The study, which Riddell said is the first in the world to examine these interactions in a real-life setting, outfitted last year's campers with round-the-clock glucose monitors both while they played tennis, basketball and soccer at camp and during their time at home, including while they slept.
The study found that even a small dip in blood sugar levels can affect the physical and cognitive performance of people with diabetes.
Conversely, while performance is best when blood sugar levels are in the normal range, the study found elevated blood sugar levels, called hyperglycemia, had only a slight effect on performance.
Fortunately, Riddell said reversing low blood sugar levels is easy if the person consumes a dextrose sugar tablet or drinks juice or a sports beverage.
This year's camp is taking the results of the study to a new level.
Campers are wearing devices that provide them with their blood sugar levels in real time as well as indicating whether the levels are continuing to decline or are rebounding.
Last year, the results were recorded and later downloaded, meaning the results were only available long after the campers had experienced changes in their blood sugar.
This way, they can see their levels are dropping and can immediately take a break from sports to pop a dextrose pill or gulp down a juice or sports drink.
"For people with diabetes, it holds huge significance," Riddell said.
The study is also important for high-performance athletes without diabetes who can see their blood sugar levels plummet during extreme sports, he added.