In sunny but windy weather, two relay teams of the German Diabetes Center took part on Sunday, April 30th, in the Metro Group Marathon in Düsseldorf. Altogether, eight runners took off at the starting line along with 12,000 other relay runners. As they passed Düsseldorf landmarks such as the Tonhalle, the TV tower, the harbor, and the Königsallee, the runners were spurred on by cheering crowds of onlookers.

“Regular exercise such as running is an ideal preventive measure to activate the metabolism and thus to prevent diabetes,” said Professor Michael Roden, scientific director and chairman of the board of the DDZ. “In Germany, around 600,000 people develop diabetes every year. The most important risk factors for type 2 diabetes include familial predisposition, environmental factors but also an unhealthy lifestyle. We want to do something to counteract this and send a positive signal,” Roden added. The DDZ staff members completed their respective relay legs out of different motivations – to achieve his/her personal best time or simply to enjoy the race despite the wind. In the end all of them were winners.


The German Diabetes Center (DDZ) is the German reference center for diabetes. The goal is to contribute to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus. At the same time, the research center aims at improving the epidemiological data situation in Germany. DDZ is in charge of the multi-center German Diabetes Study. It is the point of contact for all players in the health sector. In addition, it prepares scientific information on diabetes mellitus and makes it available to the public. DDZ is part of “Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz” (WGL) and is a partner of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.).

Recent press releases of the DDZ are available at www.ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de 

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For more information, please contact:
Christina A. Becker
Head, Press and Public Relations
German Diabetes Center (DDZ)
Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research
at the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf
Phone: +49 (0)211-3382-450
email: Christina.Becker(at)ddz.uni-duesseldorf.de