Wednesday, August 15, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Health & Fitness
DIABETES: Prevention
program launches
in September
Continued from page 1
above normal. Most food
when eaten turns into sugar
and is used as energy for the
body. The pancreas, an organ
that lies near the stomach,
makes a hormone called insu-
lin to help sugar get into our
body’s cells. When you have
diabetes, your body either
doesn’t make enough insulin
(Type 1) or can’t use its own
insulin as well as it should
(Type 2). This causes sugar to
build up in the blood.
Diabetes can cause serious
health complications includ-
ing heart disease, blindness,
kidney failure, and lower-limb
amputations. Thirty million
Americans have diabetes, and
one out of four don’t know
they have it. Diabetes is the
seventh leading cause of death
in the United States.
Dr. Eden Miller, who
works as a diabetologist and
family practitioner, travels
world-wide lecturing and
sharing her extensive knowl-
edge of the disease. Dr. Kevin
Miller’s practice emphasizes
preventative medicine and
encourages healthy lifestyle
choices to prevent diseases
like diabetes. His tireless work
advocating for the Sisters
community resulted in the
first-ever Diabetes Prevention
Program.
The program instructor is
Kylie Loving. She is the Dia-
betes Prevention Coordinator
and a Health Educator for the
Crook County Health Depart-
ment. Kevin Miller couldn’t
be more pleased to see Sisters
finally have a program with
such a well-qualified and tal-
ented facilitator.
“Kylie has a real heart
for diabetes prevention. I’m
delighted that she’s wanting
to care for folks in Sisters,” he
said.
Research shows that peo-
ple who stick with the princi-
ples of the program can main-
tain the benefit for 10 years to
prevent diabetes.
“People who adopt these
principles and make these
lifestyle changes have a sense
of pride and accomplishment
that they carry with them,”
said Dr. Miller.
In her years teaching the
class, Loving has seen partici-
pants that were in prediabetes
range return to normal blood-
sugar levels.
“I’ve had participants who
never exercise, who now love
and look forward to exercis-
ing,” she said. “Their other
medications were lessened
because of the class. Weight
loss is not the only focus, but
it’s an aspect that benefits peo-
ple. They lose weight if they
follow the principles taught in
the class. They are very happy
with the results.”
If losing weight, being
healthier and taking steps to
prevent Type 2 diabetes isn’t
enough, Loving is offering
raffles and incentives for par-
ticipation. During the first six
months, each week there’s a
drawing for a $10 gift card.
If students attend nine out of
the 16 classes they are entered
to win a $50 gift card. Attend
eight of the post-core sessions
and they are entered to win a
$100 gift card. Participants
that reach a 7 percent weight
loss and achieve the atten-
dance goals are entered to win
a $250 gift card.
“They’re great incentives,”
said Loving.
An introductory session
kicks off the program on Sep-
tember 27, from 1 to 2 p.m.
at Sisters Park & Recreation
District. Held a week before
the first class, it serves as an
opportunity to get familiar
with the location and meet
Kylie and the other attendees.
To learn if you have pre-
diabetes, there’s a website:
doihaveprediabetes.org which
only takes a few seconds.
Your score shows if you are in
the prediabetes risk category.
Potential participants can also
take the test at the introduc-
tory session on September 27.
The Diabetes Prevention
Program is a national program
that was designed after years
of scientific study and feed-
back from past programs. It
lasts for a year; in the first
six months there are weekly
meetings, then once or twice
a month for the second half
to maintain healthy lifestyle
changes.
Dr. Kevin Miller can’t
stress enough how important
prevention is for Type 2 dia-
betes — not just for the Sis-
ters community but the entire
country.
19
“Diabetes is a tsunami and
we are unaware that it’s com-
ing at us,” warned Miller.
“There’s 30 million Ameri-
cans with diabetes now and
there’s 84 million with predia-
betes. It’s a looming health-
care crisis. A patient with dia-
betes can cost up to four times
as much per year in healthcare
costs… and I’m probably
being conservative.”
To learn more about the
class or sign up, call Kylie
Loving at 541-447-3260.