Thanksgiving is a day filled with food, football, and great conversations with family! While you and your loved ones spend time together safely this Thanksgiving, consider talking about your family health history.

Bringing conversations about type 2 diabetes to the table is important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a family history of type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough yet for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Discussing your family’s health history is a great way to be aware of potential risks and start your journey to improving your health.

Start the Conversation at the Table

At the table, make a plan for something active you all can do together after the big meal. Physical activity is important – it can help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. It can also help you be healthier, live longer, and spend more time having fun with your family. Encourage your family to include more physical activity during this holiday season. Remind them to get up and get moving!

Making time to add physical activity into your Thanksgiving weekend shouldn’t be a big task. Start small by walking a little more or just moving around the house. Here are some helpful tips to try this Thanksgiving:

  • Take a walk or hike before and/or after the Thanksgiving meal. It’s a great way to get some fresh air and bonding time with loved ones. It also helps with digestion!
  • Park farther away. When prepping for Thanksgiving, you may need to make several trips to the grocery store. This is a perfect opportunity to get moving by parking farther away from the store’s entrance.
  • Split the family into groups and do a lip-syncing dance contest. Show off your dance moves and get the body moving while lip-syncing to your favorite songs.
  • Before the day ends, work together to clean up the house or yard. You may want to just lay back and let all that tasty food sit, but this is a perfect time to get up and get moving! Play some music and dance around while you clean up the kitchen or rake up leaves.

We Can Keep the Conversation Going

Looking for more ways to include movement into your lifestyle? Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL2), part of the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program through the Black Women’s Health Imperative, may be the program for you! CYL2 can help you learn more about how to add these healthy habits into your routine and reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Information for Healthcare Professionals

According to national statistics, likely one-third of your patients older thanage 18 have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. More than eight in 10 of those individuals do not know their risk.

You can refer your at-risk patients to a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program that is proven by research to cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by more than half. Participating in this program will encourage weight loss and other healthy changes to your patients’ lifestyles, lowering their risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.

Following the “M.A.P. to Diabetes Prevention for Your Practice” guide can help your practice achieve Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition, as well as meaningful use of your electronic medical record. It supports PCMH recognition via Standard 4: Self-Care Support, B. Provide Referrals to Community Resources.

Referring patients to a CDC recognized lifestyle change program helps reinforce the important advice that you give them during their visits. Because CDC-recognized lifestyle change programs use a research-based curriculum and trained coaches, you can trust that your patients are receiving evidence-based information about weight loss, diet, exercise, and other important lifestyle changes. Once they’ve enrolled in the program, you may even find that their increased knowledge saves you time during office visits.

Classes start soon. Contact Martine Rocker at (334) 293-6502 for more information about the referral process.

Employers and Insurers

More than 37 million American adults have diabetes, and another 96 million have prediabetes. These are growing concerns for America’s workforce, affecting the health and quality of life of millions of U.S. adults. These diseases also cost employers and insurers billions of dollars each year in lost productivity
and medical expenses.

CDC-recognized diabetes prevention lifestyle change programs, a key element of the National DPP, can cut a person’s risk of getting type 2 diabetes in half and reduce the serious conditions associated with prediabetes. Here you will find information on how you can join the national effort to prevent type 2 diabetes and save money on your health costs at the same time. Contact Martine Rocker at (334) 293-6502 for more information.

Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program

The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) expanded model is a structured intervention with the goal of preventing type 2 diabetes in individuals with an indication of prediabetes. The clinical intervention consists of a minimum of 16 intensive “core” sessions over six months in a group-based, classroom-style setting that provides practical training in long-term dietary change, increased physical activity, and behavior change strategies for weight control.

After completing the core sessions, less intensive follow-up meetings, furnished monthly, help ensure that the participants maintain healthy behaviors. The primary goal of the expanded model is at least 5 percent weight loss by participants.

Individuals Can Take the First Step on Their Own

In just one minute, anyone can begin a journey that will change their life. Interested parties should visit bit.ly/CYL2TWC to take a short quiz and find out if this program is right for them.