EXERCISE TRAINING IN STUDENTS WITH DIABETES: THE ROLE PE TEACHER AT SCHOOL

Diabetes mellitus is the metabolic disease of disturbed glycemic control and can mainly be divided into two categories: diabetes type 1 (DMT1) which is more common in students and diabetes type 2 (DMT2). Physical exercise has been shown to have various beneficial effects on diabetic patients and therefore it is strongly recommended for diabetic students at school. The work of physical educator in Greek public schools is obstructed by lack of formal educational seminars, required facilities, and information among society as well as phenomena of school phobia and stigmatization. The role of physical educator is encouraging and supporting diabetic students in regularly taking part in school sport activities, monitoring blood glucose levels and recording exercise plan and response to certain activities. Furthermore, from a psychological point of view, physical educator can help diabetic students to develop their special skills, adopt an optimistic attitude, obtaining self-confidence and learn to benefit from physical exercise. Finally, physical educator could be viewed as the coordinator of interactions among doctors, parents, school teachers, non-diabetic students and diabetic students regarding participation of diabetic students in school sport activities and their exercise performance along with achieving a balance on glycaemic levels.