YMCA starting program to help residents with diabetes | News … – Lock Haven Express

PHOTO PROVIDED A class like this one to help residents at risk of diabetes will begin a 25-class series on March 2 at the Bellefonte YMCA.

BELLEFONTE It is one of the most slowly progressing diseases that often falls under the radar, but the YMCA of Centre County is starting a program to help prevent it.

Starting Thursday, March 2, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Bellefonte YMCA, the YMCA of Centre County will be offering a diabetes prevention program that will consist of 25 class sessions throughout the year that will focus on topics that are crucial when it comes to diabetes prevention, such as nutrition and physical activity, according to Naomi Engelken, community health and wellness director at the State College YMCA.

Its really looking at preventing it from even happening, because we find that about one in three adults has prediabetes, meaning that theyre at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, Engelken said. A program like this can reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by about 58 percent.

Currently, there are more than 86 million adults in the United States who have prediabetes, and nine out of 10 are not aware that they have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since last year, the YMCA of Centre County has been working toward implementing the diabetes prevention program, which started about 18 years ago as a study done by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health, Engelken said. Today, more than 200 YMCAs across the United States have implemented the program.

To qualify for the program, individuals must be at least 18 or older and have a BMI over 25 or be considered overweight, Engelken explained. The YMCA is also requesting that interested participants also get a blood test from their physician, as there is a certain blood value that indicates a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

There will be a cost to participate in the program, which will depend on a person-to-person basis, and the YMCA does offer financial assistance for the program, Engelken said. Most participants will receive an incentive to join the program, so if a participant is not a YMCA member, they will receive a YMCA membership for the duration of their participation in the program.

Engelken said that a typical class will consist of reviewing topics discussed in the previous class, looking at the weekly tracking of physical activity and nutrition, tracking weight, and afterward, participants will move onto the next educational topic. For the first four months of the program, there will be 16 weekly sessions, and the remaining nine will taper off into monthly maintenance sessions. Each session in the program will be an hour long, with sessions following the March 2 one being held on a rolling basis once at least eight people register for a session.

There are two main goals of the program to help individuals reduce their risk of diabetes. One is to reduce body weight by seven percent over the course of the program, and the other is to increase physical activity to an optimal level of 150 minutes per week, Engelken said.

The program will be unlike others and aims to have a lasting impact on participants lifestyles.

Because its a smaller environment, you have a supportive environment, you really get to know the people in the class, and it really allows you to kind of take control of your health versus someone leading you through an exercise program, Engelken said.

She added that the program will really focus on teaching individuals why they need to maintain these types of things so that they can have a healthy lifestyle, and it will allow them to carry on that lifestyle beyond the programs duration.

After the YMCA finishes with this years program, Engelken said that it plans to continue to help prevent diabetes in the community. The YMCA of Centre County has been working closely with the national YMCA office and they have a implementation program set for at least the next five years.

Theres no reason that so many people should be suffering from a disease like this when its preventable with relatively easy measures, Engelken said.

For program registration and/or inquiries about the program and financial assistance, please contact Naomi Engelken at either 814-237-7717 or nengelken@ymcaocc.org. People should register by Feb. 28.

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YMCA starting program to help residents with diabetes | News ... - Lock Haven Express