Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA — which includes YMCAs in New Tampa, Zephyrhills, Dade City and Northdale — is offering a 50 percent discount for those who sign up for the Y Diabetes Prevention Program on March 25.
That day is American Diabetes Association Alert Day, bringing attention to the 26 million people who suffer from diabetes, as well as the 79 million adults — or one in three — who are on their way to having diabetes in the United States.
Prediabetes, as it’s called, is a condition in which individuals have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes, according to a release. People with prediabetes are at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
“A prediabetes diagnosis should serve as a final warning to take action to prevent developing Type 2 diabetes, and there is no better time than American Diabetes Association Alert Day to determine risk,” said Bridget Piephoff, the diabetes program prevention manager at the Tampa Y, in a release.
Initiatives like the Y’s Diabetes Prevention Program, show that losing a moderate amount of weight and increasing physical activity can prevent or delay new cases of Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent overall, and by as much as 71 percent in adults over the age of 60, the Y said.
The Y’s Diabetes Prevention Program is part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention-led National Diabetes Prevention Program, and is available at nearly 800 sites in 39 states.
For information, call Bridget Piephoff at (813) 922-2808, or email .
