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Diabetes
Prevention Program: South Asians may
avail free screening dates
The City of Berkeley
Public Health Department and the University of California, San
Francisco are offering a free diabetes prevention program for South
Asians who live, work, worship or shop in Berkeley. The program,
called “Live Well, Be Well,” focuses on lowering risk factors for
diabetes through simple lifestyle changes such as improving
nutrition and increasing physical activity.
Studies have
shown that people from South Asian countries (India,
Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) are at higher risk of
developing diabetes. Studies have also shown that diabetes can be
prevented through healthier eating, modest weight loss and increased
exercise such as walking.
Participants of
the Live Well, Be Well program will receive individualized phone
calls from a trained counselor to help them set goals and stay
motivated to reduce their diabetes risk factors. Participants will
receive information on diabetes, newsletters with health tips and
healthy recipes, and workshops on topics such as reducing fats and
sugars, reading labels and reducing stress.
Other options of
the program include learning to use a free pedometer to increase
walking and a food diary to raise awareness of food intake.
In order to
qualify for this free program, participants must be from a South
Asian country, over the age of 25, English speaking and at risk for
developing diabetes.
This is
determined through a free diabetes screening or fingerprick test.
The next free screening events are:
Downtown Oakland
Senior Center (200 Grand Ave., Oakland), October 2 and 16, 9 to 11
am; Eastmont Mall, (Corner of 73 and MacArthur/Foothill Blvds.,
Oakland), October 3 and 30, 9 to 11 am; North Berkeley Senior Center
(1907 Hearst Ave., Berkeley) October 9 and 23, 9 to 11 am; South
Berkeley Senior Center (2939 Ellis St., Berkeley), October 31, 9 to
11 am; Richmond Latina Center (3919 Roosevelt Ave., Richmond).
October 4, 11, 18 and 25).
Diabetes
screening is performed after an eight hour fast and consists of a
fingerprick test to determine the risk of having or developing
diabetes. Anyone interested in the fingerprick test should fast the
night before, eating and drinking nothing after 9 pm.
Drinking lots of water is recommended. Medication should be taken
as usual with water only.
For dates,
directions, driving instructions and additional information on the
diabetes screenings and the Live Well, Be Well Program, contact UCSF
at (415) 502-1052 or Berkeley Dept. of Public Health at (510)
981-5332
3
October, 2007
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