Walking to prevent diabetes: Mocc Walk 2012 underway

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s (KI) Sandra Fox is participating in the Mocc Walk 2012 Challenge in memory of her late grandmother, who had diabetes.
“She passed away at the age of 96,” said the receptionist at the Ontario Native Women’s Association office in Thunder Bay. “And my mother has diabetes and my aunt, she just had her leg amputated. And I’m diabetic too.”
Fox started walking before the Mocc Walk 2012 Challenge began on May 1 during her coffee breaks.
“It stabilizes my sugar and I guess I have to try and watch what I eat,” Fox said. “Now on both of my coffee breaks I go for my 10-minute walk.”
Fox also goes for evening walks along a fitness path near John Street when she is not too busy.
“It takes me about 40 minutes to an hour,” Fox said. “It’s beautiful. The river is there too, which is nice.”
Fort William’s Jennifer Cornell said her husband and son already walk in the evening.
“I think it’s a good way to get fit,” said the problem gambling awareness coordinator with ONWA. “I already walk so it’s a better way to keep track of it and promote a healthy lifestyle.”
Cornell said the Mocc Walk 2012 Challenge is a good way to promote healthy choices and be more active, considering the high rate of diabetes among Aboriginal people.
Prizes are being handed out to the top three individuals and teams from each of the four regions across Ontario: northern, southern, eastern and western.
Three grand prizes of a Wii Fitness game, an iPod and a child’s bicycle are also being awarded.
ONWA is holding the Mocc Walk 2012 Challenge from May 1 to June 30 to increase diabetes awareness and promote physical activity among Aboriginal people across Ontario.
“We haven’t got the count for this year yet, but last year we had 570 people walking across Ontario,” said Robert Fenton, Aboriginal diabetes worker with ONWA. “We’re hoping to break that record this year. Walking has been shown to be a good tool for managing your blood sugar level, so we’re trying to promote that with the Mocc Walk.”
Fenton said walking is a simple exercise that just about everybody can do.
“We have families joining, a lot of teams signed up,” Fenton said. “It’s a good tool for managing your diabetes.”
Although Mocc Walk originally was a month-long challenge, Fenton said it was expanded to two months so walking would become a part of the participants’ everyday life.
“People really enjoyed the two months and they continued even after that Mocc Walk was over with their walking.”
Interested people or groups can contact Fenton for information at 807-623-3442, toll free at 1-800-667-0816 or by e-mail at diabetes@onwa-tbay.ca.