10-year-old Emirati boy with Type 1 diabetes seeks to be a horse-riding champion

10-year-old Emirati boy with Type 1 diabetes seeks to be a horse-riding champion

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Khalifa explains: "In late 2019, I saw a video about someone who learned horse riding in just 30 days to enter a competition, and it really inspired me to take up the sport. I talked to my mother and I told her that I wanted lessons, and she said I could, as long as my doctor agreed that it would not harm my health.“

Khalifa's doctor, Consultant Paediatric Diabetologist Dr Amani Osman from Mubadala Healthcare's Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC), explains that children with poorly managed Type 1 diabetes should avoid exercise until their blood sugar levels are under control.

She says medical recommendations are that if a person's blood sugar is more than 250 milligrammes per decilitre, he or she needs to be extremely cautious about exercising due to the threat of diabetic ketoacidosis.

Picture shown is for illustrative purposes only.

"Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication that occurs when your blood sugar is very high and acidic substances called 'ketones' build up to dangerous levels in your body. If this occurs, it can cause symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain and in serious cases, even coma or death. It was