Gym Raises Money, Awareness For Diabetes

November is the month when diet and exercise often take a back seat to eating and celebrating the holiday season. November is also National Diabetes Month, so Gold’s Gym took the opportunity to remind the community how important it is to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. On Saturday, World Diabetes Day, 30 people, gym members and other participants from throughout San Angelo, held a ‘spin-a-thon’ to benefit the American Diabetes Association. They participated in one-hour, two-hour or the full three hours of cranking 30 stationery exercise bicycles in the Gold’s Gym parking lot on Sunset Boulevard. John Flint, general manager of the gym, said Gold’s works closely with the American Diabetes Association and other diabetes organizations. According to the ADA’s Web site, 23.6 million children and adults in the United States — 7.8 percent of the population — have diabetes. While there are some uncontrollable causes of the disease, such as ethnicity, age and family history, some contributing factors are within the individual’s control: a healthy diet, regular vigorous exercise, and not smoking are three ways to decrease the risk of getting diabetes. ‘You are in control of your own destiny with this disease,’ said Dawn Empey, a diabetes educator from Shannon Medical Center. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, can be controlled by medicine, a healthy diet and exercise.’”

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/nov/17/gym-raises-money-awareness-for-diabetes