City YMCA set for diabetes prevention program

The Watertown Family YMCA's diabetes prevention program aims to help up to 45 adults work toward healthier lifestyles before they become diabetic.

There will be three rounds of the 16-week program, with a maximum 15 participants per round. Michelle L. Graham, program coordinator and the Y's wellness director, said the program is made possible by a $12,000 grant from the New York State Health Foundation.

"Any time you have the opportunity to really educate people about making lifestyle changes, you should," she said. "We're giving them a unique opportunity to change their future and health outcomes."

Diabetes comes in two forms. According to the state Health Department, Type 1 typically appears in young children and adults who do not produce insulin, which "helps convert sugar, starches and other food into energy." Type 2, however, is the most common form, in which bodies do not make enough insulin or cannot use insulin properly.

According to the state Health Department, more than 17 million Americans have diabetes, and an additional 16 million are considered prediabetic, "a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet in the diagnostic range for diabetes."

Mrs. Graham said the free diabetes prevention program, which includes a free 16-week membership to the Y, focuses on modest weight change to alter one's blood glucose level, therefore decreasing one's chances of getting diabetes.

Stephen N. Rowell, branch director for the downtown Y, said the first wave of participants began its four-month journey Monday night. Each group will meet once a week for the 16-week duration. Once the program is complete, Y staff will follow up with each person once a month for 12 months thereafter.

People ages 18 and up who have been identified as prediabetic by their physicians need a referral from that physician to qualify for the program. Interested participants should call Mrs. Graham at the Y at 782-3100 for more information.

Mr. Rowell said the premise behind the diabetes prevention program is for participants to have a 5 percent to 7 percent weight loss by the program's end.

He said the new program is the first of its kind for the Y, and came at just the right time.

"We've been trying to get a diabetes prevention program in place as part of our wellness goals, and then this came along and matched up well with what we want to do," he said. "What we know nationally is obesity is borderline epidemic. We said, 'How can we support that population?'"

Betty Rose Gaffney, 63, Watertown, said with diabetes cases on the rise, she wants to make sure she is not a statistic.

"My sugar was a little high," she said. "We need to learn more about how we can take care of ourselves, and how to handle it."

Although there is not much diabetes family history, Mrs. Gaffney said, her father developed the disease late in life, something she does not want to do.

"I don't want to worry about having diabetes down the road, and have to take medicine, and wonder if I'll be here 20 years from now," she said. "I'm 63 years old; my health should be the most important."

The group setting works best for her, she said, because others help provide the motivation she needs to stay active. Mrs. Gaffney said some family members frequently take walks with her.

Inconsistent dieting and exercise are a thing of the past, she said. Since participants are weighed each week and progress is logged, Mrs. Gaffney said, she hopes to accomplish better eating habits, exercise regularly and learn more about diabetes.