Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Talking to Your Patients About Lifestyle Change
96 million American adults – more than 1 in 3 – have prediabetes
More than 8 in 10 adults with prediabetes don’t know they have it
If you patients have prediabetes, losing weight by eating healthy and being more active can cut their risk of getting type 2 diabetes in half.
Prediabetes increases the risk of:
- type 2 diabetes
- heart disease
- stroke
Lifestyle Change Program
The lifestyle change program that is part of the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program is proven to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. It is based on research that showed:
- weight loss of 5 to 7% of body weight achieved by reducing calories and increasing physical activity to at least 150 minutes per week resulted in a 58% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes
- for people 60 and older, the program reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 71%
- after 10 years, lifestyle change program participants had a 34% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes
The lifestyle change program provides:
- a trained lifestyle coach
- CDC-approved curriculum
- group support
- a full year of in-person online meetings
Your patients will learn to make achievable and realistic lifestyle changes:
- eat healthy
- incorporate physical activity into their daily routine
- manage stress
- solve problems that get in the way of healthy changes
Patient Eligibility
- 18 years or older, and
- overweight, and
- diagnosed with prediabetes, or previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes
How You Can Help Your Patients
- Test your at-risk patients for prediabetes
- Refer your patients with prediabetes to a CDC-approved lifestyle change program
Learn more from CDC and find an approved lifestyle change program at: www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention