To mark the first EU Screening Week, the International Diabetes Federation Europe (IDF Europe) is raising awareness of the importance of screening and early detection through two “Know Your Numbers” health check activities in Milan and Brussels. The initiative highlights the importance of understanding key health indicators and identifying potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D), cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and obesity at an early stage.
Around 34 million adults in the EU live with diabetes, and around one in four remain undiagnosed. Diabetes, CVD, CKD and obesity are closely interconnected and can develop silently without obvious symptoms. Early detection can help identify potential health concerns earlier, creating an opportunity for timely action.
“The growing focus at EU level on prevention and early detection is a critical step towards addressing the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in a changing demographic landscape,” said IDF Europe Regional Chair, Prof. Tadej Battelino. “Joint health checks can help people better understand their health, know their risks and take a more active role in managing their health, while identifying risks and conditions at an earlier stage. But screening is only the beginning. Its impact depends on what happens next. Timely follow-up and access to appropriate interventions must be embedded within integrated, person-centred pathways of care if we are to prevent or delay disease progression and complications and help people live longer, healthier lives.”
IDF Europe Mobile Unit in Milan at the EASD Congress
As part of the EU Screening Week, IDF Europe is bringing its Know Your Numbers Mobile Unit to the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Milan from September 28 to October 1.
Located at Allianz MiCo – Milan Convention Centre, Piazza Sud, near Gate 2 on Viale Eginardo, the Mobile Unit offers free health checks covering key risk factors for T2D, CVD, CKD and obesity.
Participants can check a range of health indicators, including HbA1c, lipid profile, Lipoprotein(a), kidney health, blood pressure, waist circumference and BMI, helping them better understand their health and potential risk factors.
More information about the event can be found here.
IDF Europe-ESC joint health checks in Brussels in front of the European Commission
In Brussels, from September 28 to October 2, IDF Europe is holding a joint health check event on the Esplanade in front of the Berlaymont, alongside the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Commission, and with the support of the Belgian Heart League, the Belgian Society of Cardiology and Association du Diabète.
The event offers free health checks of key risk factors for diabetes, CVD and obesity, alongside information on the importance of prevention, screening and early detection.
These initiatives and the EU Screening Week come at a time of growing European momentum around prevention, screening and early detection. This includes the European Commission’s Safe Hearts Plan, launched in December 2025 as the first EU-wide approach dedicated to cardiovascular health. The Plan focuses on prevention, early detection and screening, and treatment and care, while recognising the close links between CVD, diabetes and obesity and the need for a more coordinated approach to prevention.
Joint health checks are a key components of this work. As the Commission develops an EU protocol on cardiovascular health checks, and with the Council Recommendation planned for 2026, the diabetes, cardiovascular, kidney and obesity communities have been working together through a Task Force on defining a cardiovascular-renal-metabolic health check. The Task Force, of which IDF Europe is a member, has developed recommendations for a more structured and integrated approach to health checks across the 27 EU Member States. The recommendations recognise the close links between these conditions and the importance of identifying risk factors earlier and supporting timely action.
The first EU Screening Week provides an opportunity to reinforce this message across Europe: screening and early action can play an important role in identifying health risks earlier, creating opportunities for timely action and changing the course of these diseases.
Through Know Your Numbers, IDF Europe is helping to turn this message into practice – giving people an opportunity to check key health indicators while encouraging greater awareness of the importance of screening.
