Most children with type 1 diabetes mellitus cannot do sports or other physical activities. The reason is a wide list of institutionalized limitations of access to training and competitions. However, physical activities — with adequate control of a child's condition — are another opportunity for young diabetes patients to better manage their disease.

In 2020 in Moscow, GEROPHARM launched the Diabetes. Dancing. Children wellness and education program within the Diabetes in Persons project. There, children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes mellitus do ballroom dancing. Ballroom dancing is a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercises that help improve endurance, equilibrium, motion coordination, and posture. In addition, dancing helps overcome fear and lack of self-confidence and teaches children to adapt in a team.

The program adapts physical exercises to each child’s glycemic parameters over time. The program is supervised by endocrinologists from Federal State Budgetary Institution “National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and by clinical psychologists. Coaches have special knowledge about diabetes mellitus and the skills required to control and reverse glycemic episodes that may occur during physical exercises.

In addition to dancing, children do Perfect Self-Control Marathon “Smarties” where they keep self-control records, analyze their glycemic parameters, adjust insulin dose for exercise, and calculate carbohydrate units in their food. Endocrinologists and clinical psychologists conduct seminars for parents where they cover key issues of the disease management.

Children participate in recording videos of their dancing and interviews about creative and social issues to raise awareness of the problem of diabetes in children, promote the benefits and opportunities of physical activities.