YMCA Diabetes Prevention

Are you at risk? Click here for our Diabetes Prevention Program Checklist.

Free Pre-Diabetes Risk Assessment – email Karina Barreto Bernal, Community Health Assistant.

View video below of a program participant.

The YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program helps those at high risk adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles and reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes. YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program is based on the landmark Diabetes Prevention Program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which showed that by eating healthier, increasing physical activity and losing a small amount of weight, a person with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes by 58%.

In a classroom setting, a trained lifestyle coach will help you change your lifestyle by learning about healthy eating, physical activity and other behavior changes over the course of 16 one-hour sessions. Topics covered include nutrition, getting started with physical activity, overcoming stress, staying motivated, and more. After the initial 16 core sessions, you will meet monthly for up to a year for added support to help them maintain their progress.

Click here to view current program dates/times in our program guide.

Watch the video below to learn more about the program

New York Times article about Oralia Barrio, a program participant.

View the English and Spanish video of Oralia’s story.

Read the stories of two of our participants.

Program Goals:

Reduce body weight by 7 %

Gradually increase physical activity to at least 150 minutes per week

Can I participate?

To qualify for the program, individuals must be overweight and at high risk for developing diabetes or overweight and have been diagnosed by a physician as someone with pre-diabetes.

Am I at risk?

Your doctor can tell you if you are at risk. He can determine this through a blood test with one of the following results:

- Fasting plasma glucose between 100 – 125 mg/dL
- HbA1c between 5.7% and 6.4%
- Random or casual blood glucose level of 140-199 mg/dL or higher
A combination of risk factors such as family history, overweight, gestational diabetes, elevated cholesterol, etc., may also put you at high risk. Contact Tanya Stack, Y’s Diabetes Prevention Program Regional Coordinator at 967-6363, x206 for more information.

Financial Assistance Available

Are you at risk? Click here for our Diabetes Prevention Program Checklist.

UnitedHealthcare members should check with their employer for program availability, or contact the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance to confirm eligibility at 1-800-237-4942

For more information email Karina Barreto Bernal, Community Health Assistant