York University diabetes camp enrollment doubles.
Counsellor Chris Preece, right, and camper Ryan Halliday have some fun during the diabetes camp at York University.
Photo/COURTESY
Attendance has doubled this year at a sports camp for kids with Type 1 diabetes at York University.
The two-week camp, now in its fourth year, has 80 campers between the ages of eight and 16 this year, up from 40 last summer.
Camp director Michael Riddell, a world-renowned diabetes and exercise physiologist and associate professor at York's faculty of health, pointed to a couple of reasons for the boost in numbers.
For the first time, the Diabetes Hope Foundation is sponsoring 30 children who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to go to camp.
While the foundation has helped fund counsellors' salaries in the past, this is the first time it is sending youngsters to the university's camp, Riddell said.
The foundation is also supplying three buses to transport campers daily to and from the Hospital for Sick Children downtown, McMaster Health Centre in Hamilton and the Charles H.. Best Diabetes Centre in Whitby.
The reputation of the camp is also growing, Riddell said.
The camp, which runs from July 18 to 29, offers campers the chance to build their skills in basketball, soccer, tennis and track and field.
The camp links the benefits of sports with improving campers' self-confidence so they are more likely to exercise, Riddell said.
Many kids with Type 1 diabetes, not to mention their parents, are reluctant to be physically active because of the stigma.
They have to stop playing in the middle of a game to prick their finger to test their blood sugar and may have to have a snack, something their teammates don't understand.
"If they have low blood sugar, their performance deteriorates," Riddell said. "To shoot or pass is awful and they feel awful."
Severely low blood sugar can result in other symptoms such as dizziness, confusion and difficulty speaking.
Riddell appreciates what youngsters with the disease face because he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 14.
Type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes, is not preventable and requires ongoing injections of insulin. Type 2 diabetes is associated with inactivity and obesity.
Research has proven regular exercise can add years to the lives of people living with both types of diabetes, Riddell said.
Youngsters at the camp are learning that keeping physically active can boost their self-confidence in sports and other areas of their lives, he said.
But while exercise is beneficial, it can make blood sugar control challenging. That is especially true in adolescents as insulin requirements are influenced by the food they eat, their activity levels and the rhythms of other anti-insulin hormones.
Teaching children with Type 1 diabetes how to control their blood sugar before exercise means they can play longer without having to test their blood sugar.
It's the difference between testing after an hour of sports rather than after 15 minutes, Riddell said.
To help them learn how their blood sugar levels work, campers wear glucose monitors around the clock.
They then learn strategies to keep their blood sugar levels balanced, Riddell said.
"The message we want to get across is that exercise is beneficial and safe, provided kids and parents have the information they need," he said.
"Moreover, we've found that if their condition is managed properly, kids can compete on par with their non-diabetic peers."