It's not too late to reverse a slide down the slippery slope to diabetes. There's a science-based helping hand now to do that.
A new type 2 diabetes prevention program that involves dropping a reasonable amount of weight -- and making a handful of lifestyle adjustments -- can help prevent or delay diabetes, says Ann Albright, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Diabetes Translation. Albright has been talking up the National Diabetes Prevention Program these days.
The program, based on research by the National Institutes of Health and the CDC, has demonstrated that by improving exercise and other habits, along with modest weight reduction -- 7% of body weight -- people with pre-diabetes have a 58% chance of preventing or delaying diabetes if they follow the plan. Albright says it involves 16 one-hour sessions with monthly follow-ups for a year.
The CDC recently partnered with the Y (formerly YMCA), using the research-based model, to create the affordable program, Albright says. "We're up and running."
Classes are available at 28 sites in metropolitan areas. UnitedHealthcare (one of the USA's largest health insurers) joined the CDC and the
Y to pick up costs in some areas. "A web is building across the country. This is a monumental amassing of partners," Albright says.
"It's a great approach, a model we should be taking more often in medicine," says Richard Bergenstal, American Diabetes Association president for medicine and science.
"The biggest reason we came on board was we recognized that diabetes and obesity are becoming epidemic. We have to give this the same amount of focus as HIV and breast cancer," says physician Deneen Vojta, senior vice president of the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform and Modernization.
One in 10 U.S. adults has diabetes now. Prevalence is expected to rise sharply over the next 40 years.
In addition to covering eating and exercise problems, the program offers a behavioral component. "It talks about barriers and problem solving," says Albright, who adds that 57% of the population lives within 3 miles of a Y.
John Nedel, 45, of Columbus, Ohio, says he has been attending a class since September and has lost 30 pounds, down from a starting weight of 372.
"As silly as it sounds, it has made me aware of how to eat properly," Nedel says. "I felt like I was never taught how to eat. This helps support people."
To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to http://www.usatoday.com
Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.