CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia will launch a
national program for the hundreds of thousands of people at risk of
developing diabetes, with a focus on intensive lifestyle coaching.
The
National Diabetes Prevention Program is a yearlong program for those at
high risk and those diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Participants will work
with a lifestyle coach in a group setting to achieve weight loss and
physical activity goals.
It will start with one-hour sessions once a week for 16 weeks, followed by six monthly sessions.
Gina
Wood, director of diabetes control and prevention for the state Bureau
for Public Health, said employees and volunteers with 13 organizations
across the state have already completed training to become effective
coaches.
It's unclear, however, when the programs will officially launch and how many people are likely to participate initially.
Diabetes
can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, blindness,
kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says it's the seventh-leading cause of death in
the United States.
Already, some 466,000 West Virginians — 26
percent of the state's population — have early stages of type 2
diabetes. Tens of thousands are believe to be undiagnosed.
Without
lifestyle changes, the CDC estimates that as many as half of those with
pre-diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years.
The
new program is based on research led by the National Institutes of
Health that found people can lose 5 percent to 7 percent of their body
weight with modest behavior changes.
Researchers also found that
better nutrition and more exercise reduced the chances of developing
diabetes by 58 percent. The risk was cut by 71 percent for people over
60.
West Virginia has a higher prevalence of diabetes than the
rest of the nation. In 2010, nearly 12 percent, or more than 229,000
adults — had diabetes.
Wood says the disease could cost the state an estimated $3 billion by 2025.
"West Virginia really needs this program," she said. "Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable. We can do this."
___
Online:
W.Va. program: http://www.wvdiabetes.org/
CDC-Diabetes: http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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