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

Say: “The objectives for today’s session are for us to:
Describe the goals of this program, which is called Power to Prevent
Discuss the impact that small steps can make in preventing or delaying getting diabetes and in
controlling diabetes
Use tools to help take small steps in food choices and in physical activity levels
In future sessions, we’ll learn behavioral changes that can help prevent, delay, or control diabetes. In this session
we’ll spend time learning about tools that we can use to help us make changes in eating and in physical activity
levels.”
Refer to the fipchart that lists the session titles, and give a brief overview of the topics that will be
covered in future sessions. Display this fipchart during all 2 sessions.
Discussion Points
Introduce the following questions during the discussion:
What is diabetes?
What are some of the complications of diabetes?
Who is at high risk for diabetes?
What can I do to reduce my risk?
NOTE: Understanding diabetes is a huge topic. All you can give in this frst session is a very basic overview to
help people understand why preventing diabetes is so important. Some participants may have signed up for the
program to learn more specifcally about diabetes. An optional session (Session 6: Diabetes Overview, Parts 1–3)
can be held to give participants some background on diabetes. However, the sessions in this program CANNOT
replace diabetes education classes. The purpose of the Power to Prevent program is specifcally to impart healthy
eating and physical activity habits.
What is Diabetes?
Say: “Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce insulin or doesn’t use it properly. Insulin
is a hormone made by a gland called the pancreas. When a person digests food, glucose (or sugar) is
produced as a basic fuel for the cells of the body. The purpose of insulin is to help the glucose move
from the blood into the cells.
When a person without diabetes digests food, the pancreas produces the right amount of insulin to
move glucose from the blood into the cells. In people with diabetes, however, either the pancreas
produces little or no insulin, or the cells don’t respond to the insulin that’s produced. So glucose
can’t get into the cells, and it builds up in the blood. A person’s blood glucose level then becomes
too high, and the result is pre-diabetes or diabetes.
There is no single cause of diabetes; many factors play a role. There are several different types of
diabetes.”
NDEP Power to Prevent Session 4