Hundreds of walkers will converge on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday, Sept. 17 to participate in the 2016 Step Out: Metro East Walk to Stop Diabetes.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Parking Lot A on North Circle Drive. The walk will last from 10-11 a.m., with a celebration following.
This is the University’s sixth year to host the event and Saturday will mark the 25th anniversary of the Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes, according to Keely Nelson, of the American Diabetes Association, St. Louis.
“Step Out Metro East has more than 100 teams so far with a total of 300 people,” Nelson said. “Our goal this year is to raise $145,000.
“Step Out takes place in 95 cities nationwide, with more than 100,000 walkers stepping out each year. We’re a committed community made up of many teams. The more people who walk to raise money, the closer we get to a cure – and together we will stop diabetes. All money raised from this event goes to fund critical research for a cure.”
According to Nelson, with almost 10 percent of the population living with diabetes, the disease is rapidly becoming an epidemic.
“As many as one in three American children born after 2000 will develop diabetes by 2050, if present trends continue,” she explained. “Nearly 30 million adults and children in the United States have diabetes. Living a healthy lifestyle through weight management, education and nutrition are the best ways to prevent Type 2 Diabetes. The only way to fight Type 1 Diabetes is to help fund research for a cure.”