Cherokee Nation program benefits pre-diabetes patients – Muskogee Daily Phoenix

A program sponsored by the Cherokee Nation has been successful in reducing the risk of diabetes in pre-diabetics.

"People with pre-diabetes who lose 7 percent of their body weight through a healthy lifestyle intervention reduce their risk for diabetes by 58 percent," said Tonya Wapskineh, Cherokee Nation diabetes prevention manager.

But those who took metformin, a diabetes medication, reduced their risk by 30 percent.The bottom line is that the healthy lifestyle group reduced their risk for diabetes twice as much as those who were placed on medication, Wapskineh said.

With that success, Wapskineh is looking for more Cherokees who qualify for the program. Some of the qualifications include having a history of gestational diabetes for women, a body mass index of over 24 or a history of diabetes in the family.

While joining the class is voluntary, some are referred by their medical provider. The program's goal is to get everyone to lose 7 percent of their body fat.

"It's kind of a wake-up call for them especially when their doctor tells them they can do something to prevent diabetes," said Karen Bryant, physical activity specialist.

A lot of participants have lost up to four pounds in a couple of weeks just by cutting back and not eating french fries every day.

Classes last a year with the first two months as weekly class, the next four months are bi-weekly classes and the remaining meetings are once a month,Wapskineh said.

Most Cherokees have a diet high in fat and fried foods with little vegetables and fruit, Bryant said. She says their eating habits were learned from childhood.

Participants are not told to stop eating that kind of food.

"Wegive them ways to enjoy these foods by cutting portion sizes, cutting fat out of food and replacing unhealthy cooking oil with healthier ones," Bryant said.

Using this program, one Cherokee man started out at 307 pounds, and a year later he is maintaining 175 pounds, Bryant said.

"When he first started his activity program he could barely get one-quarter around the track, and now he walks every chance he gets and still uses a food journal and that's been about five years ago," she said.

His main success was using a food journal and keeping track of what he ate.

Volunteers have a physical activity goal of 150 minutes per week.

"If they can sing or talk normally and are being active they need to work a little harder. If they can't talk they need to slow it down,"Wapskineh said.

For those who are pretty sedentary, Bryant recommends 15 minutes of walking twice a day and work up to 150 minutes a week. For faster weightloss, 60 minutes of brisk walking a day is recommended.

"From what I've seen through the program is that the more education they receive on how to correct their lifestyle, the more effective it is than going to the doctor and getting a pill,"Wapskineh said.

At the Cherokee Nation Wapskineh said she has actually seen their providers move into preventive medicine and are more supportive of promoting the healthy lifestyle program.

Wapskineh's budget is $400,000 and she would like to see that doubled to possibly establish diabetic prevention centers in all 14 counties within the Cherokee Nation jurisdiction.

"But our work is federally funded and the money is just not there that's just my dream," she said.

Information: (918) 207-3839.

Reach Mark Hughes at (918) 684-2908 or mhughes@muskogeephoenix.com.

What to do

The Cherokee Nation is looking for more Cherokees who qualify for the pre-diabetes program. Some of the qualifications include having a history of gestational diabetes for women, a body mass index of over 24 or a history of diabetes in the family.Information: (918) 207-3839.

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Cherokee Nation program benefits pre-diabetes patients - Muskogee Daily Phoenix