Franciscan Health Olympia Fields is offering prediabetic patients the opportunity to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes with its year-long Diabetes Prevention Program.
Franciscan Health’s 12-month Diabetes Prevention Program follows guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that have been proven to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S., impacting more than 37 million American adults. Few realize type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with lifestyle changes, like those implemented through the Franciscan Health Diabetes Prevention Program.
Groups meet weekly for 16 sessions prior to six monthly follow-up sessions with a trained lifestyle coach. Throughout the course of the program, participants work with a certified healthy lifestyle coach who guides them in practices to help build energy and confidence, lose weight naturally and reduce stress and anxiety.
The program is open only to participants 18 and older who have been diagnosed as prediabetic, not those who have previously been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. They must also have a body mass index greater than 25. Those who had a previous diagnosis of gestational diabetes or a screening result indicating a high risk of type 2 diabetes are also eligible to participate.