Christine Zhou (L2), senior vice president and president of Region China at Novo Nordisk, presents a check symbolizing Novo Nordisk's donation to Wang Dan (R2), secretary-general of the CHMDF on Sept. 28, 2018. (Photos: courtesy of Novo Nordisk)

A running event, "Sports Changing Diabetes," was held Friday at Beijing's 751 D-park as part of a Copenhagen exhibition for the ongoing Beijing Design Week.

The event attracted close to 400 participants including diabetes patients, Danish royalty, officials from the Danish Embassy in China, members of the Copenhagen delegation, student groups and representatives from all sectors of society.

Notable participants included: HRH Crown Prince Frederik; Wang Dan, secretary-general of China Health & Medical Development Foundation (CHMDF); Christine Zhou, senior vice president and president of Region China at Novo Nordisk; and Kristian Teglkamp, Health Team Counsellor of the Danish Embassy in China.

Before the start of the run, Novo Nordisk announced it would continue to support the Changing Diabetes Fund over the next two years to help more people cope with the illness.

The running activity is held during the ongoing Beijing Design Week on Sept. 28, 2018.

The latest statistics from the International Diabetes Federation show that the number of Chinese people with diabetes has reached 114 million.

In 2017, Novo Nordisk and the CHMDF launched the Changing Diabetes Fund to help diabetic patients. Since its foundation, the fund has supported a 21-year-old type-1 diabetes patient and an aerobics team composed of seniors with type-2 diabetes.

"Novo Nordisk has been dedicated to changing diabetes for 95 years," said Zhou, "In the future, we will continue to work with governments, social organizations, health care professionals, communities and patients to change diabetes in China by improving the patients' understanding and management of the disease while helping to restore their confidence and live better lives."