Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the body does not make enough insulin or does not properly use insulin to keep up with the amount of sugar in the blood. Your body changes most of the food you eat into glucose (sugar) and, through the blood stream, uses it to give your body energy. However, too much glucose in the blood is not good for your health.

Diabetes Prevention Program

The National Diabetes Prevention and Lifestyle Change Program (NDPP), which is based on research lead by the National Institutes of Health and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), helps prevent type 2 diabetes by 58% when participants lose 5% to 7% of their body weight (10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person).

To qualify for the program, a person must be overweight and at risk of developing diabetes. Many factors increase your risk for pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes:

• Being 45 years of age or older.
• Having a family member with diabetes.
• Having a family background of African-American, Hispanic/Latino, American-Indian, Asian-American, or Pacific-Islander.
• Having had diabetes while being pregnant (gestational diabetes), or having given birth to a baby weighing 9 pounds or more.
• Being physically active less than three times a week.

NDPP spans one year and participants meet as a group with a trained lifestyle coach for 1 hour once a week for 16 weeks, then every other week for 4 months, then once a month for the final 3 months. Participants learn how to make healthy lifestyle changes that can help prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes, including choosing healthier foods, losing weight, being more physically active and managing stress. The group setting provides a supportive environment with people who are facing similar challenges.

Take the Pre-Diabetes Risk Test to see if you are at risk, and learn more about the program.