Children and their parents trained in diet and exercise in Japan
“Slim mini camp for children” held by the Japan Association for Diabetes Education and Care (JADEC)
On the last Sunday of the summer vacation the “Slim Mini Camp” gathered a total of 25 children and their families and 10 medical and co-medical participants. The event was held at Tokyo’s Komatsugawa Sakura Hall for a one-day diet and exercise event.
The event, called “Slim mini camp for children,” was held by the Japan Association for Diabetes Education and Care (JADEC), supported by the Novo Nordisk Japan affiliate. It was the first of its kind held by JADEC, the largest diabetes patients association in Japan. The idea came from the DAWN Youth project in 2008, when six young Japanese patients with Type 1 diabetes thought of creating a camp for obese children/Type 2 children and their parents. The idea was proposed as a DAWN Youth Submission along with other activity plans to change diabetes and was presented at the 4th DAWN Summit.
The programme included a lecture on diet, healthy lunch (including cooking by families), exercise combined with a fun set of quiz. Starting and ending with a health check, the programme was designed to make children and their families learn what and how to eat right and how to exercise right. Fourteen medical and co-medical staffs including doctors, nutritionists, a therapeutic exercise instructor, and physiotherapists, supported the event.
Participants learned about the diet and exercise balance. Many participants were surprised to see how much she/he need to exercise to consume a handful amount of potato chips. “We loved the lunch, it was so tasty and yet healthy,” said a mother. “We had lots of fun today,” said children who came to the instructors to say good bye after the event.
And the fulfilling feeling was shared by the staff. “I felt very happy to see children and parents who were so keen on learning”, said Kimiko Hosokawa, a nutritionist who leads the diet programme. “I am very pleased to see children and families enjoying the programme”, said Hiroshi Matsui, therapeutic exercise instructor from Kyoto. “I think today’s event provided what school education is in lack of – teaching the importance of exercising and healthy diet. Children tend to play in the virtual space and without using their own body”.
Five of six members who worked on the DAWN Youth Submission gathered as staff to support the event. “It was great that we were able to realize the plan from 2008 and it went so well” said Tatsuzo Sakamoto. “It will be good, if similar events will be held locally initiated by local stakeholders”, said Shingo Yamamoto who traveled from Ehime. “The event itself turned out to be wonderful. The unexpected part was that it seemed so difficult to attract obese children with Type 2 diabetes”, said Kyoko Akashi, Daitetsu Hirayama and Koki Ohyama. In the end, this event gathered many non-obese children and their parents, which indicates that even parents with non-obese children have an interests in diet and exercise.
“It took a long time to realize the event as an official JADEC event, and we may have to reconsider the approach to provide information to children with type 2 diabetes, but the contents and management were good”, concluded Yasuko Uchigata, Professor at Diabetes Center, Tokyo Women’s Medical University in Tokyo, representative of DAWN Youth Japan, who has guided the project since 2008.
“I think the event was very successfull in terms of the valuable learnings the participants accumulated during the mini camp”, said Noriko Kodama, Japan affiliate’s Director of Corporate Communications. “Having JADEC fully involved enabled us to have a high quality event with participation of many medial professionals with great experience”, she added.
