The Kosciusko Community YMCA puts a focus on Diabetes Prevention for residents in the community

The Kosciusko Community YMCA will be launching the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, a national program to help those at risk for type 2 diabetes make healthy changes to prevent the on-set of this epidemic disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29 million adults in the United States have diabetes. This is alarming, but what’s more staggering is that 86 million adults have prediabetes, yet only 10 percent of them are aware of it. This means that 1 out of every 3 people in the community may be at high risk for type 2 diabetes and not know it.

To address the sheer number of prediabetes cases, the Kosciusko Community YMCA is partnering with the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne to offer the national YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program in Warsaw. This program helps adults lose 5-7 percent of their body weight through healthier eating and increased physical activity that can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

AN EVIDENCE-BASED SOLUTION
The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program is a year-long, group-based, behavior change program for adults at high risk for type 2 diabetes. The goal of the program is to help those at high risk for type 2 diabetes learn techniques and tools to make sustainable behavior changes so they can adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce their risk for developing the disease.

The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program uses a CDC-approved curriculum and is part of the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program. Studies by the National Institutes of Health have shown that programs like ours can reduce the number of cases of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
The program consists of 25 sessions delivered over one year, in a relaxed, classroom-like setting. A trained Lifestyle Coach will work with a small group of participants on topics like goal setting, problem solving, and physical activity. These topics are designed to help participants adopt healthy lifestyle changes through choosing better eating options, increasing physical activity, and other healthy behavior changes. Programs like the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program have shown to prevent or delay new cases of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent and as much as 71 percent in adults over the age of 60.

TIME TO ACT
The Kosciusko Community YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program will be offered on Mondays starting September 24, 5:45-6:45 p.m. To participate in the program, pre-registration is required. Please contact the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne call center line at 260-487-1030 or email hereforyou@fwymca.org. A Y membership is not required for participation. If you need some help determining if you are pre-diabetic, please take advantage of free A1c screenings offered at the YMCA in the YMCA Fitness Testing Room on September 10, 6:30-7:30 p.m. or September 14, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Quick and easy results in 5 minutes or less.

To learn more about the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program visit www.kcymca.org or contact Tracy Frick at tfrick@kcymca.org or 574-269-9622 x232.