VOA健康报道2024--Olympic Athletes Turn to Diabetes Technology in Medal Chase

Olympic Athletes Turn to Diabetes¹ Technology in Medal Chase

Medical device companies Abbott and Dexcom make small devices that attach to the skin and monitor the amount of glucose², or sugar, in the blood.

These devices were first made to help people with diabetes. Diabetes is a medical condition that prevents the body from properly digesting sugar and turning it into energy.

The devices permit people to make changes to their diet or take medication such as insulin to help control their glucose levels.

But the devices are also being used by some Olympic athletes. The monitors help runners and swimmers learn how the food they eat affects their energy level.

Dutch long-distance runner Abdi Nageeye is paid to wear a device made by Abbott. Nageeye was the silver medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics. He will try to get another medal during this summer’s Olympics in Paris, France. The Games begin on July 26.

Nageeye pays attention to his sleeping and eating each day. So, it makes sense that he would pay attention to the sugar in his blood. “That's your energy, actually, that's your fuel. We have to monitor that," said Nageeye

The information that comes from the monitor helps Nageeye get closer to an “effortless” or stress-free run.

The devices are called continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs. In the past, they required a prescription³ from a medical doctor. But now, although there is no official proof that the devices help with athletic⁴ performance, the companies that make them are getting permission to sell them to regular people.

"I do see a day where CGM is certainly going to be used outside of diabetes in a big way," said Dexcom's Chief Operating Officer Jacob Leach⁵.

In March, the U.S. gave Leach’s company permission to sell its Stelo device without a prescription. It is expected to go on sale this summer.

Abbott pays Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge to wear its device. He has won the last two Olympic marathons. He uses the device to monitor his calories and the intensity⁶ of his workouts.

Abbott said its device, called Libre Rio, will also be available soon without a prescription.

Both companies saw sales growth of over 20 percent for their wearable CGMs for diabetes patients in 2023. A research company called GlobalData sees the growth continuing at a rate of 15 percent per year through 2031, as more people become interested in using the devices to help with weight loss.

Sports researcher Filip Larsen sees the CGMs as a way to better understand the exertion⁷ levels of serious athletes. Larsen is a professor at the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences.

"A big guesswork for endurance⁸ athletes has always been: am I training hard enough or am I training too hard? It seems with CGMs, we have a better understanding," he said.

Larsen also works with a company called svexa, which researches sports performance. He has already examined CGM data from some athletes and sports teams. Larsen notes there is little proven science about how to help athletes perform better using the data that comes from the monitors.

"Most researchers cannot give you the exact answers. In five years, we will know 10 times as much as we do now,” he said.

But the possibility of finding important data means many people are looking into monitoring blood glucose.

Greg Cox is a sports dietician and associate professor at Bond University in Australia. He works with swimmers, rowers and track and field athletes.

Cox said a recent test of top athletes proved inconclusive. The test restricted an athlete’s calories before an intense exercise session.

He and Larsen said they were unsure how valuable a CGM would be for a regular person who used it without medical supervision⁹.

But for the companies that make the devices, the non-medical market is large. Abbott says it believes the CGMs will help people lead healthier lives with “improved energy, mood, focus, sleep.”

Words in This Story

monitor –v. to observe or pay attention to something

athlete –n. a person who competes in sports events

stress –n. the pain, effort or worry a person feels

regular –adj. something that is normal, routine or usual, not special

exertion –n. the amount of energy spent doing a task, usually a difficult one

inconclusive –adj. not producing a clear result

mood –n. the way a person feels

focus –n. the ability to pay attention to something for a long period of time

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

5 leach   

v.分离，过滤掉；n.过滤；过滤器

参考例句：

• Liquid water can leach soluble materials from the interface.液态水能够从界面溶解出可溶性物质。
• They believe that the humic materials are leached from decaying plant materials.他们认为腐植物料是从腐烂的植物体浸沥而来。

6 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

7 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

8 endurance   

n.耐久力，忍耐力，耐久的时期，持续的时间

参考例句：

• She reached the end of endurance.她到了忍受的极限。
• The exercise obviously will improve strength and endurance.这种锻炼会明显改善体力增加耐力。

9 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。