By Jeffery Kurz
Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — The onset of the New Year, under way today, is a time when millions of Americans make resolutions to get fit and lose weight. For those at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, it’s the perfect time of year to make a serious commitment.
With a plethora of available weight-loss programs and diets, it’s often difficult to determine a common-sense approach, and for that reason MidState Medical Center is launching a new initiative designed to help people remain committed to risk-reducing strategies.
Losing weight and increasing fitness is generally a good idea for anyone, but for those at risk, taking steps to avoid diabetes also means reducing the risk of other serious illnesses. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, osteoporosis and foot and eye damage. Diabetes is also linked to increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. About 21 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes, and about 90 percent of them developed diabetes as a result of lifestyle, said Kathleen Wietrak, an advanced practicing nurse with MidState’s diabetes center, which is now located at the hospital’s complex on Pomeroy Avenue, on Meriden’s east side.
MidState’s program, called “Stepping it Up,” is not for those with diabetes but for those with pre-diabetes or those at risk for the disease. Pre-diabetes is defined as having fasting blood sugar levels ranging from 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter. Those with diabetes have fasting blood sugar levels at 126 mg/dl or greater.
Risks for developing Type 2 diabetes include being overweight, having a history of hypertension, high cholesterol levels and lack of exercise. The body’s shape is also a risk factor. Women with waistline measurements of 35 inches or greater are considered at increased risk. For men, it’s waistlines of 40 inches or more.
Research indicates that you can delay or prevent the onset of diabetes by reducing weight by 5 percent to 7 percent and by taking on 30 minutes or more of physical activity each day, Wietrak said.
Her program is designed to help participants make lifestyle changes they can maintain. The strategies can also be used for those not facing the threat of diabetes.
At the second of the six-session, every-other week program, for example, participants learn to cut 100 calories a day, either from adjusting diet or adding exercise. Each subsequent session trims an additional 100 calories, so by the time the program is complete 500 calories have been reduced each day. Since, 3,500 calories add up to a pound, at the end of the week participants should have shed that much in weight.
“That’s nice, healthy, safe weight reduction that has a higher chance of staying off,” Wietrak said.
Other sessions will focus on portion sizes and reading food labels.
“I want to take what people do and show them a few ways to make it better,” Wietrak said.
That includes helping people deal with the transition time when they return from work to the home. That’s when many begin taking in calories that can get out of control, she said. Ideally, one should have a meal or a snack every three to four hours, to maintain blood sugar levels, she said.
Two “Stepping it Up” programs are slated for 2010, the first starting Jan. 12, the second April 13. Wietrak said she’s hoping for 20 to 25 participants in each. She prefers group sessions because participants can offer one another encouragement and support, she said.
Along with advice from a dietitian, Catherine Rich will talk about the risk factors for high cholesterol and hypertension. Rich is Mid-State’s cardiac rehabilitation and wellness coordinator. For most in the cardiac program, lifestyle has caused their troubles, she said.
“Some is ignorance and some is hard to do,” she said.
After the completion of each program, follow- up meetings will be held monthly for the following three months to help participant’s measure progress.
Wietrak said the aim is to show people some behavioral changes “that don’t take a lot of time and really aren’t so painful — not in a week or two, but six months down the road. If they stick with these changes they’ll be healthier.”
Depending on the success of this year’s programs, MidState could make them ongoing, offering three each year, Wietrak said.
The program is for adults, 18 and older. Wietrak said fliers will be sent to physician’s offices so local doctors can help identify potential participants. The cost is $10 a person or $15 a couple.