Director's Note
At NIDDK, we know many of the conditions in our mission take a huge toll on patients, their families, and the nation. To help lessen this burden, NIDDK connects the results from research to the people who most benefit from them by providing free, evidence-based health information on topics from diabetes to kidney disease.
In this edition of Director’s Update, we highlight two recent examples of these efforts. In August, the third edition of Diabetes in America, a preeminent source of scientific information on diabetes, was completed. Additionally, “Guiding Principles for the Care of People With or at Risk for Diabetes” was also updated. The guide aims to identify and synthesize areas of agreement among existing diabetes guidelines to help health care providers deliver quality care.
NIDDK’s online health information and outreach to the public is comprehensive – covering all diseases within our mission in plain, accessible language – and sometimes in several languages!
Through our “Sisters Together: Move More, Eat Better,” a national health awareness program of the Weight-control Information Network (WIN), we encourage black women to reach and maintain a healthy weight through physical activity and healthy food choices. This effort is vitally important because more than half of U.S. black women contend with obesity. Excess weight increases the risk of health conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease.
At NIDDK, we strive to reach people where they are – including in their own communities. Our Kidney Sundays Toolkit (PDF, 7.94 MB) , for example, provides faith-based organizations with the tools and materials needed to include kidney health messages in programs and events. My “Welcome to Kidney Sundays” video explains more. And with the holidays approaching, our Family Reunion Health Guide (PDF, 1.48 MB) offers a resource that can be used at any family gathering to start the conversation about kidney health.
In this issue, we also honor Dr. Ad Bax, a true pioneer in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. He recently received the 2018 Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry, an honor given to only one other NIH scientist – Dr. Earl Stadtman in 1991.
I hope you enjoy reading this update, and I encourage you to visit NIDDK’s website to see for yourself how NIDDK’s health information resources can help you and your loved ones.
In good health,
Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D., M.A.C.P.
Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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