T-R PHOTO BY JANINE ERMAN Health & Wellness Director Angie Paxson and Coordinator Keisha Lockhart of the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA review curriculum for the year long Diabetes Prevention Program.

The Diabetes Prevention Program is in session again at the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA. This program has been in place for several years and Health and Wellness Coordinator Keisha Lockhart along with Health and Wellness Director Angie Paxson are set to help participants with pre-diabetic symptoms begin a new lifestyle.

“This is a year long program and is quite a commitment,” Paxson said. “It is a lifestyle change program not a quick fix to make you better.”

The program is for Type II diabetes prevention. It is to help participants who have either been diagnosed as pre-diabetic or whose numbers fall within the program guidelines to work with a lifestyle coach in a classroom setting. Those numbers can be found on the “Can I participate questionnaire” a brochure obtained at the YMCA. The program accepts referrals from doctors; however it is not a requirement.

“If they are diabetic, they do not qualify for this program,” Lockhart said. “If they have already received that diagnosis or if their blood values are outside of the pre-diabetic range they do not qualify for the program.”

“This is diabetes prevention,” Paxson said. “Once you have been diagnosed you can no longer go back to being pre-diabetic.”

Participants can join up to four weeks after the program starts but time is of the essence. The lifestyle coaches provide a great deal of material in a classroom setting for 25 one-hour sessions.

“The curriculum is given out in paper copies each week so it won’t overwhelm the individual,” Lockhart said.

“This is a classroom-based program not a workout program,” Paxson said. “One of the goals we set for participants is to get 150 minutes a week of physical activity. But we don’t concentrate on physical activity during the class time. That can be considered vigorous housework, walking around the block or gardening. It doesn’t have to be here in a class or on a treadmill.”

The National YMCA price point for this program is $429. Call the Marshalltown YMCA to get the actual price offered at our local YMCA. Flexible spending dollars can be used to payment.

Paxson said most participants in the program continue the year long course.

“Retention numbers on this program are very good. We are a CDC nationally recognized site for this program,” Paxson said. “Goals for participants of this program are to increase physical activity up to 150 minutes a week and decrease body weight by 7 percent and by doing so they can delay or decrease the onset of Type II diabetes by up to 58 percent so if they follow the steps they can save themselves from costly disease later on.”

Contact Keisha Lockhart at 641-752-8658 to inquire about this program.

MAIN TYPES OF DIABETES:

Type I diabetes:

An autoimmune condition. Your immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the beta cells in you pancreas that produce insulin.

Type II diabetes:

Your body cannot use insulin efficiently. Termed as insulin resistance.

Gestational diabetes:

Occurs only during pregnancy. It is due to insulin-blocking hormones produced during pregnancy.

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Contact Janine Erman at 641-753-6611 or jerman@timesrepublican.com