• By Todd Luck
• Posted Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Minority Diabetes Prevention Program celebrates graduates

The NC Minority Diabetes Prevention Program (NC MDPP) held a graduation at the Forsyth County Department of Public Health on March 19 celebrating more than 32 participants who completed the program.

The free, year-long program is for those who are pre-diabetic or at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. It teaches healthy eating, meal planning, physical activity, and overcoming barriers. This evidence-based program helps participants make modest lifestyle changes that will cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by more than half.

NC MDPP is a NC Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) program that uses the CDC’s PreventT2 curriculum and is coordinated in this region of the state by the Forsyth County Department of Public Health. Locally, the program has been offered for four years, and it’s had 459 participants during that time who’ve lost a total of 2,197 pounds.

“A year ago, you probably didn’t think you’d be where you are today,” Assistant Public Health Director Sherita Sutton told graduates. “You have learned so many new things, the way to live a healthier life that you can share with your family and friends and grandchildren.”

Julia Chrisholm, an alumni of the program, told participants that what they’ve learned can make a big difference in their lives if they continue to prioritize their health.

“Your health is first. Take care of you, that person that’s in the mirror,” she said.

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal that can lead to serious health problems including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputation. Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the country.

Risk factors for diabetes include being 45 years of age or older, being overweight, having a family history of type 2 diabetes, being physically active less than three times a week, and if you’ve had diabetes while pregnant or given birth to a baby that weighed more than nine pounds.

For more information about the program, visit: https://forsyth.cc/PublicHealth/diabetes_prevention.aspx.

For more pics from the graduation, visit: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzGBMX.