Local residents who are worried they might be at risk for diabetes can take control by registering for a Diabetes Prevention Program offered at the Mississippi Market Co-op by the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities.
People who are at greatest risk for diabetes are overweight with a body mass index greater than 25 and have two or more of the following risk factors: high cholesterol, blood pressure is 140/90 or higher, physical activity less than two times per week, parent or sibling with diabetes, and/or 45 years of age or older. The good news is that you can prevent diabetes with a few changes to your lifestyle and this program can help.
The Diabetes Prevention Program will be available at Mississippi Market Co-op, 1500 W. 7th St., St. Paul. The full-year program begins at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, with 16 weekly sessions followed by eight monthly sessions. The program uses a group-based lifestyle intervention designed especially for people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It has been proven to cut participants’ chances of developing the disease by more than half.
Lifestyle interventions delivered through community-based organizations such as the YMCA and Mississippi Market Co-op can save lives and health care dollars. In the past, cost was a barrier to bringing a program such as this to those who would most benefit. However, this unique partnership, which brings together the public, private and non-profit sectors, is translating research into affordable, real-life prevention strategies. The YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program 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 with lifestyle changes and modest weight reduction, a person with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of the disease by 58 percent.
For more information, call 612.465.0489 or visit www.ydpp.org
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