Diabetes Prevention Program
Concerned about developing diabetes?
You may be able to avoid it. The Diabetes Prevention Program can help.
Without help, those with prediabetes can develop Type 2 diabetes within 5 years. With numbers like that, it’s important to learn about prediabetes and take action to reverse pre-diabetes with small lifestyle changes.
That’s where the Diabetes Prevention Program comes in!
For people who have been diagnosed with diabetes, there are other options for learning self-management skills. See Healthy Living with Diabetes.
A program for those with prediabetes to prevent type 2 diabetes
A researched and proven behavior-change course, the Diabetes Prevention Program is for people who have prediabetes or are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The year-long course, led by trained lifestyle coaches, consists of 16 one-hour core classes held over a 6-month period and six one-hour post-core classes held over a six-month period that include topics such as eating healthy, increasing physical activity, and losing weight.
Classes are highly participative. Mutual support and success build participants’ confidence in their ability to manage their health condition and maintain active and fulfilling lives. The program is facilitated by trained lifestyle coaches in a classroom style, but most of the learning comes from sharing and helping others with similar challenges.
You are eligible to participate in this program if:
AND, one of the below:
Prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) is higher than normal, but not yet at a level that would indicate you have diabetes. Diabetes is a serious disease that can cause heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, or loss of feet and legs. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented in people with prediabetes or who are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, through effective lifestyle programs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people with prediabetes who take part in a structured lifestyle change program like the Diabetes Prevention Program can cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58% (71% for people over 60 years old). This program helped people lose 5% – 7% of their body weight through healthier eating and 150 minutes of physical activity a week.
Research has found that people who completed a diabetes prevention lifestyle change program were one third less likely to develop type 2 diabetes – even after 10 years.
Interested in becoming a trained coach for the Diabetes Prevention Program? Visit our Become a Facilitator page to learn more.