Are you at risk for diabetes? Peconic Bay Medical Center and the Suffolk County Department of Health are sponsoring a Free Diabetes Prevention Program this April. The Diabetes Prevention Program aims to help prevent diabetes in people who have pre-diabetes or are at risk for diabetes.
Patients with pre-diabetes have elevated blood glucose levels that are not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. If a patient is diagnosed with pre-diabetes, they are at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as other health problems such as heart disease and stroke.
Early treatment in those with pre-diabetes can result in blood glucose levels returning to the normal range.
According to the American Diabetes Association, weight loss and exercise are key to preventing diabetes. Losing just 10-15 pounds can make a difference, and losing 7 percent of body weight (or 15 pounds for those who way of 200 pounds), can reduce risk of type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.
The Free Diabetes Prevention Program will cover how to eat healthy by improving food choices, how to increase physical activity, positive strategies for minting healthy weight loss and how to begin making healthy lifestyle changes.
The program will meet every Friday for six weeks, beginning on April 4 at Peconic Bay Medical Center. The meetings will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. in Conference Room A.
For information involving registration and eligibility, contact Janis Hurley at the Suffolk County Department of Health at (631) 853-3187.
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