Power to Prevent - National Diabetes Education Program - National ...

Group Participants’ Guide
Note to Program Leader: Photocopy this section of the Power to Prevent curriculum and send to participants
before the program begins or hand out at the frst session.
Power to Prevent is a program designed to encourage overweight people at increased risk for
diabetes to lose weight and prevent or delay the disease . The program presents nutrition and
physical activity health tips and suggests activities that are simple and fun. The program consists
of six weekly sessions followed by six monthly sessions. Your group may decide to take more time
with some of the sessions, depending on the participants’ interests. For example, your group might
choose to spread a particular session over more than one meeting time in order to ft in all of the
optional activities. Participants are encouraged to bring family members or friends to the sessions to
support healthy lifestyle behaviors for everyone.
Results of the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP),
a large study of adults at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, showed that they were able to
prevent or delay diabetes by losing some weight (5–7 percent of their body weight), eating a healthy
diet (low fat, lower calorie), and increasing their physical activity. The Power to Prevent program has
incorporated these principles of lifestyle change so that you, too, can beneft from the fndings of
this study.
How the Program will Beneft You
Power to Prevent will:
Teach you how to add healthy eating and physical activity to your daily routine
Inform you about partnering with your health care provider to ensure good health
Provide you with ways to get your family involved with the Power to Prevent program
Show you how to control portion sizes and to plan healthful meals
Give you tips on how to make healthy choices when you dine out
Your Role as a Group Member
As a group member, you will attend group sessions and will participate in the activities outlined
for each session. By attending each session, you will be able to make healthy habits a part of your
routine, and the group will beneft from your ideas and your participation in the group discussions.
Your contributions will inspire others to discuss their ideas. Your group leader will ask you to
respect the ideas and opinions of others in the group, even though these ideas may be very different
from your own. Every participant will have his or her own way of learning to change habits into
healthy ones! At the end of each sessionyour group leader will ask for your feedback so that he or
she can make improvements in the next session. The more willing you are to share your reasons for
participating, the more your session leader can help make sure that you get what you need from the
sessions.
NDEP Power to Prevent Group Participant’s Guide