DIABETES PREVENTION
The Y’s Diabetes Prevention Program (YDPP) helps those at high risk adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles and reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes. YDPP is based on the landmark Diabetes Prevention Program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which showed that by eating healthier, increasing physical activity and losing a small amount of weight, a person with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes by 58%. In a classroom setting, a trained lifestyle coach will help you change your lifestyle by learning about healthy eating, physical activity and other behavior changes over the course of 16 one-hour sessions. Topics covered include nutrition, getting started with physical activity, overcoming stress, staying motivated, and more. After the initial 16 core sessions, you will meet monthly for up to a year for added support to help them maintain their progress.
Are you at risk?
Your doctor can tell you if you are at risk. He can determine this through a blood test with one of the following results:
- Fasting plasma glucose between 100 – 125 mg/dL
- HbA1c between 5.7% and 6.4%
- Random or casual blood glucose level of 240-199 mg/dL or higher
A combination of risk factors such as family history, overweight, gestational diabetes, elevated cholesterol, etc., may also put you at high risk.
We are just at the beginning of this process but we are working tirelessly to draw as many resources to this promising program as possible.
2012 YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program sites:
- Kishwaukee Family YMCA (DeKalb)
- Two Rivers YMCA (Moline)