Dining with Diabetes
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in Virginia. Over 400,000 Virginians have been diagnosed with diabetes and another 132,000 Virginians have diabetes and don’t know it. Diabetes has a high cost in money, loss of productivity, and quality of life.
Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents partner with the Virginia Department of Health Diabetes Unit and local health care professionals to offer Dining with Diabetes (DwD). This program helps people with diabetes and their families learn more about the nutritional management of their disease and self-care practices that will prevent or slow the development of diabetes complications. DwD includes four weekly classes followed by a reunion class three months later that provides an opportunity for evaluation and follow-up.
After completing the program the majority of class members report that they use a meal planning method such as the Plate Method to help manage their carbohydrate intake and most increased the number of days each week they had at least 30 minutes of physical activity. As part of the program evaluation, those with diabetes had a hemoglobin A1c test at the first class and the reunion class. Forty-three percent of the participants had a hemoglobin A1c level in the desirable range when the program began as compared to 60 percent at the reunion. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that persons with even small decreases in their blood hemoglobin A1c required fewer physician visits in the years following with an estimated annual savings of $685.