IL Pathways to Health Classes
Diabetes Prevention Program
The Diabetes Prevention Program is for people who want to avoid type 2 diabetes. It uses a curriculum developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and cuts your risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half. The program helps you make lasting changes, such as eating healthier, adding physical activity into your daily routine, and reducing stress.
About the class
Key components include:
- CDC-approved curriculum with lessons, handouts, and other resources to help you make healthy changes.
- A trained lifestyle coach that will help you learn new skills, encourage you to set and meet goals, and keep you motivated.
- Group discussions that are fun and engaging.
- A support group of people with similar goals and challenges. People can share ideas, celebrate successes, and work to overcome obstacles.
Duration of the program:
- The program runs for one year.
- During the first 6 months, sessions meet about once a week.
- During the second 6 months, sessions meet once or twice per month.
Classes are designed to help you learn to:
- Eat healthy without giving up all the foods you love
- Add physical activity to your life, even if you don’t think you have time
- Deal with stress
- Cope with challenges that can derail your hard work
- Get back on track if you stray from your plan
- Enhance the skills you’ve learned so you can maintain the changes you have made
Benefits of the class
Research shows that CDC-recognized lifestyle change program participants who lost 5-7% of their body weight and added 150 minutes of exercise per week cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 58% (71% for people over 60 years old).
Even a decade later, program participants were one-third less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than individuals who did not join a program.
- Cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- Lower your risk of having a heart attack or stroke
- Improve your health
- Help you feel more energetic
- Reverse prediabetes diagnosis
Who should take the class
To participate you need to meet ALL of the following requirements:
- Be 18 years or older
- Have a BMI of 25 or higher (23 or higher if you are Asian American)
- Not be previously diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
- Not be pregnant
You also need to meet 1 of these requirements:
- Had a blood test result in the prediabetes range within the past year:
- Hemoglobin A1C: 5.7–6.4%.
- Fasting plasma glucose: 110–125 mg/dL.
- 2-hour plasma glucose (after a 75 g glucose load): 140–199 mg/dL.
- Be previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes
- Received a high-risk result (score of 5 or higher) on the Prediabetes Risk Test
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