YMCA’S DIABETES PREVENTION PROGRAM
We provide comprehensive support programs to address specific challenges associated with diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH & FITNESS:
PREVENTING DIABETES IS POSSIBLE
Diabetes is a serious condition that causes blood sugar levels to rise higher than normal. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Currently, diabetes affects more than 29 million people.
Prediabetes occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Risk for developing type 2 diabetes may be reduced or eliminated by weight loss, healthier eating and increased physical activity. More than 86 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk of developing diabetes.
Prediabetes may be reversible; diabetes has no cure.
AM I AT RISK?
The YUSA website has a helpful quiz, an can help you find out if you are at risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. To learn more and to take the quiz, please click here.
“I’ve lost 25 pounds so far through this program. I’m 20 pounds away from being considered by my doctor for the brain surgery I need to mitigate my seizures, which means everything to me. This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. And that’s the difference for me.”
—Liza, YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program Participant
CHANGE IS TOUGH—WE CAN HELP
Let’s face it, if change were easy, we’d all do it. You’ve spent years developing habits that you can’t expect to change overnight. It’s tough. We can help.
The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program gives you the skills you need and the support you deserve to make lasting healthy lifestyle changes.
In the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program a trained lifestyle coach will introduce topics in a supportive, small group environment and encourage participants as they explore how healthy eating, physical activity and behavior changes can benefit their health.
GROUP SUPPORT KEEPS
YOU MOTIVATED
Everyone needs a push, a pat on the back, a helping hand sometimes. A little encouragement goes a long way when you’re making big changes. In the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program you’ll spend a year surrounded by a group of supportive people with common goals who care about your well-being.
As a participant, you’ll enjoy:
- A safe space where you can feel comfortable sharing and learning in private.
- Making new friends. You will support each other as you all trade old habits for healthier new ones.
- Working as a group. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
- The new energy and confidence that comes with losing weight and reducing your risk for diabetes.
IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH,
BOOST YOUR ENERGY
To help reduce your risk for diabetes, your goal in the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program is to reduce your body weight by 7% and increase your physical activity at least 150 minutes per week within the first half of the program.
For example, if you weigh 200 pounds your goal for the first half of the program would be to lose 14 pounds and increase your physical activity to what could be a brisk 30-minute walk five days per week.
Lose weight, boost your energy, reduce your risk for diabetes and improve your health for life!
DO YOU QUALIFY?
To participate in the program, you must be:
- 18 years or older.
- Overweight (BMI ≥ 25)*, and
- Diagnosed with prediabetes via one of three blood tests or a previous diagnosis of gestational diabetes.**
- If you don’t have a blood test result, you must have a qualifying risk score.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Eating too much sugar does not cause diabetes, but being overweight is a risk factor.
- People with prediabetes may not have any symptoms.
- An estimated 86 million Americans ages 20 years and older have prediabetes.
- And… 89% of that 86 million have no idea they’re at risk.
- National Institutes of Health research has shown that programs like the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program reduces the number of new cases of type 2 diabetes by 58% overall and by 71% in people over 60.
A YMCA MEMBERSHIP IS INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM
How it works:
- The 12-month group-based program consists of 16 one-hour, weekly sessions, followed by monthly sessions led by a trained lifestyle coach who facilitates a small group of people with similar goals.
- Discuss topics such as healthy eating, increasing physical activity, reducing stress, problem solving, and much more.
- Stay motivated to maintain progress towards program goals with monthly maintenance sessions.
As a participant, you will receive and your family will receive a Hockomock Area YMCA membership during the program.
Program Goals:
- Lose 7% of your body weight
- Gradually increase your physical activity to 150 minutes per week.
You will do this by learning strategies for:
Healthy Eating——Eating smaller portions, reducing fat in your diet and discovering healthier food options has been proven to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Increasing Physical Activity——Studies have repeatedly shown that moderate physical activity (walking, swimming, mowing the lawn) for as little as 30 minutes, five days a week can help improve your blood pressure, raise your good cholesterol and prevent blood flow problems.
Losing Weight——It has been shown that reducing your body weight by even a small amount (as little as 7%) can offer tremendous benefits for people at risk for diabetes.
Based on research funded by the National Institutes of Health, the program has been shown to reduce the number of new cases of type 2 diabetes by as much as 58%. The reduction was even greater, 71%, among adults aged 60 years or older.
Call 508-643-5271 or CONTACT US for programs in Foxboro, Franklin and North Attleboro, MA.
