The YMCA has always been an institution that maintains its core value of enriching the lives of its community through programs to build strong families and to enhance personal growth of mind, body and spirit.
Within the last few months, the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis has pushed its diabetes prevention program designed by the IU School of Medicine.
More than 18.2 million Americans have diabetes and don’t know it, and of this number, 2.7 million are African-Americans and are 20 or older. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not only is diabetes the sixth leading cause of death but African-Americans and other minority groups are two times more likely than whites to be diagnosed with the illness.
The growing epidemic in the United States is alarming and institutions such as the YMCA and IU’s School of Medicine are in full throttle to help alleviate these ills and educate Hoosiers before it is too late.
Diabetes Prevention Program Director Shana Ross says the YMCA is committed to making our communities, families, kids and teens healthier. Its program assists in the prevention of diabetes to those who are considered pre-diabetic.
“This is at the top of our list because diabetes is such a huge problem. It’s about 65 million Americans that are characterized as pre-diabetic,” Ross said. “So we are trying to address the concern before it becomes a global issue.”
Pre-diabetes is a condition that comes before diabetes, which implies one’s sugar level is higher than normal, yet not high enough to be considered diabetic. At this stage it is quite possible to later become diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and more prone to other chronic illness such as stroke or heart disease. With programs like the YMCA’s diabetes prevention it focuses on easily orchestrated methods to assist those predisposed.
“We talk about portion control and how to read food labels, different physical activities, and how to make healthier choices when you eat out at restaurants,” Ross said.
The program consists of two paradigms. One frontier lasts 16 weeks where participants meet weekly to reach their goals of lowering their sugar levels and losing five to seven percent of their body weight.
Upon completing this portion of the program, Gretchen Gentry, diabetic prevention instructor, says this is when it truly becomes difficult “when participants go through the maintenance stage for 12 months.”
“Once people have gone back to their doctor and are cleared after our 16-week core program in which they have done better, they usually have a hard time coming back,” Gentry said. “Managing once a month through maintenance is hard when people have gotten used to weekly encouragement and education.”
However, though this challenge may be a bit difficult, according to Ross, there have been more than three groups that have successfully completed the whole process, which lasts approximately one year and four months.
“The most successful denominator in this program is the fact that we offer long term maintenance. A lot of other programs don’t,” said Ross. “These sessions are consecutive, and the first 16 weeks we meet as a specific group, they stay in that group, and they get support from each other, learn about each other and give each other advice.”
Most of the YMCA’s diabetes prevention program participants are from physician or client referrals like Richard Marshall and Keri Deck, both who were referred by their doctors and are currently in the same session.
“The program has not only been helpful, but it makes me be accountable for what I eat and how often I exercise,” Deck said. Marshall agrees commenting from the first day of the session he has felt welcomed and would recommend the program to others.
The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis hopes to continue to inform the community about the importance of educating individuals about diabetes prevention through its program. It encourages those who are interested in making healthier lifestyle choices to contact its office for assistance.
For more information contact Shana Ross at sross@indycma.org.
