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YMCA expands locally developed diabetes prevention initiative

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In June 2012, the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), the national office for the nation’s Ys, was awarded a Health Care Innovation Award by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). This award allowed the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis to offer the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program at no cost to qualifying Medicare beneficiaries.

Effective immediately the program has expanded to include Medicare Advantage (Part C) beneficiaries over age 65. This project is made possible by funding from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Medicare and Medicaid Services. The award provides scholarships so that everyone who qualifies can receive the diabetes prevention class at no cost to them whether or not they are members of the YMCA.

The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis was chosen to be one of 17 sites for implementation, in part, because the YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program was developed and validated at the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis through a partnership with the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Diabetes Translational Research Center. This partnership culminated in the publication of the DEPLOY study in the American Journal of Public Health in the 2008, which showed that YMCA staff were as effective in getting prediabetic individuals to lose weight and maintain weight loss as health care professionals. 

Weight loss in a prediabetic individual is the key to preventing the progression to full diabetes. Maintaining a 7 percent reduction in body weight (about an 11 pound weight loss in a 160 pound individual) reduces the five year risk of developing diabetes by 59 percent in prediabetic individuals.

The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a 12-month evidence-based program that includes 16 weekly core sessions followed by monthly maintenance sessions. The program is delivered in a classroom setting by trained lifestyle coaches and provides a supportive environment where a small group of individuals work together to learn how healthier eating and increased physical activity can help reduce their risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Long-term program goals include reducing participants’ body weight by seven percent and increasing physical activity to 150 minutes per week.

“Prediabetes is a surprisingly common condition. About 80 million Americans have prediabetes, and a large number of them will develop diabetes over time,” said Dr. Bob McDonald, chair of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis Health and Wellness Committee. “If your doctor says you have prediabetes, ask about ways to help you change your lifestyle.

“The YMCA is working closely with the local medical community in this initiative, but only you can change your lifestyle.  If you can do it on your own, great; if you need help changing your lifestyle, get help.  Because of our early involvement in this initiative, the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis has helped hundreds of prediabetic individuals lose the pounds and keep it off.  We know how to help and the concept is not hard.”

All YMCA locations are currently enrolling participants for their January Diabetes Prevention classes. For more information, contact your local Y or visit OurCauseIsYou.org.

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