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[bs_col class=”col-sm-8″]WHAT IS PREDIABETES?

One out of every three U.S. adults has prediabetes.

What is prediabetes?

It is when blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be in the range for Type 2 diabetes. If you have prediabetes you are 10x more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than someone who has normal blood sugar levels. And we all know that when you have diabetes, if it is not well controlled, you are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, nerve damage, amputations, stroke and blindness.

Are you are risk?

Open this link and take this quiz on the right side of this page to find out. If you score nine or more, you are at risk.

If you have had a blood test indicating prediabetes in the past 12 months or if you are a woman who has ever had gestational diabetes you are at risk as well.

The good news is you can do something to decrease your risk.

What can you do? 

You can sign up for the Center for Disease Control’s 12-month National Diabetes Prevention Lifestyle Change Program. This program was developed after research showed that participants who completed this 12-month program and lost 5-7 percent of their baseline body weight by decreasing fat and total calories, as well as exercising at least 150 minutes per week, decreased their risk for type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. People over 65 years of age had even better results and decreased their risk for type 2 diabetes by over 70 percent.

The University of Utah offers the CDC-NDPP multiple times per year at various locations around the valley in English and Spanish. If you are interested in learning more, email DPP@utah.edu today and find out how to get on board.

As of July 2016, 120 people have been enrolled in this program.

Average lbs/person lost = 4.2 percent

Read comments from some of our participants

“The NDPP Program adheres to best practices that lead to enduring behavioral changes necessary to prevent diabetes. Having just finished contributing to and co-editing a book that addresses adherence in health-related practices, I am impressed that we have such a “cutting edge” program in our midst, and I feel most fortunate that I was able to participate in it.”

-Perry G. Fine, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
School of Medicine
University of Utah

“The best part was the shared suffering and shared victories, you always felt that the group had your back as you fought bad food choices.”

-Kathryn Hain

“Luckily, the program lasted a year, with a more intense first three months.  That was good for me, because consistency in making healthy choices was something I needed to practice throughout the year.  Before joining the University of Utah NDPP, I was making a lot of “exceptions” to my goal of eating healthy every day.  There were potluck days at work, birthday parties, special occasions and eating out.  The awareness I gained about making consistently good choices helped me choose more wisely, more consistently.”

-Lauren Clark

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SHOULD YOU USE AN EXPIRED EPIPEN?

EpiPens are supposed to be replaced every year. However, some are asking if the pens can be kept for a longer period of time in order to save money.

Read the full story here.

KIDS’ VISION AND LEARNING

Do you have an eager Little League team player who just misses hitting the ball with the bat most of the time, or can’t seem to quite get under those fly balls in the outfield? Maybe it’s not her lack of athletic talent that’s to blame. Maybe it’s her vision.

The same could be true of trouble with learning. According to the American Optometric Association (AAO), 80 percent of the learning a child does is through the eyes, and nearsightedness (poor distance vision) is one common cause of learning difficulties.

The full article can be found here.

For more expert health news and information, visit healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed.[/bs_well][/bs_col]
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