Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. program powered by the Black Women’s Health Imperative, and their eight program affiliates launch new awareness effort aimed at education on prediabetes and reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes.
WASHINGTON, D.C., (July 24, 2018) — After leading the way as a grantee under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Diabetes Prevention Program, the Black Women’s Health Imperative launched its first prediabetes awareness campaign to highlight their branded lifestyle change program, Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL²), and partners. BWHI hopes to connect and educate the public on how preventable type 2 diabetes is, and encourage people to “Know Their Risks” by taking the CDC Prediabetes Risk Test. BWHI will utilize numerous digital activities to reach the masses through Twitter Chats, PSAs, Digital Ads, and videos.
For the past six years, CYL² has helped people not only shed pounds, but also avoid type 2 diabetes, heart disease and many other chronic conditions. BWHI partners have enrolled over 1,800 participants into the lifestyle change program. Through this campaign, the strong message is that type 2 diabetes does NOT have to be your destiny!
“One in three American adults has prediabetes, which is a serious health condition that often leads to type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, 90 percent of them don’t know they have it,” says Dr. Angela Ford, Program Manager of CYL². “We want this campaign to not only encourage people to know their risks but also to get the support they need by joining the CYL² program in the counties where it is offered.”
Quick Facts About Prediabetes:
- Prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.
- Approximately 84 million American adults—more than 1 out of 3—already have prediabetes.
- Of those with prediabetes, 90% don’t even know they have it because they have never been tested.
- Without losing weight or increasing physical activity, people with prediabetes may develop type 2 diabetes within three years.
- Prediabetes puts you at increased risk of developing not only type 2 diabetes, but it also increases your risk for heart disease and stroke.
Currently, CYL² is available in several cities and counties, through the BWHI partnering organizations listed below:
- AM Health Services, LLC: Lafayette, LA
- Black Women for Wellness: Los Angeles, CA
- Claiborne County Family Health Center: Port Gibson, MS
- Collins Wellness Center: District Heights, MD
- Fundamental Health Solutions: Jackson, TN
- Indiana Minority Health Coalition, Inc.: Indianapolis, IN
- Outpatient Medical Center, Inc.: Natchitoches, LA
- Rural Health Medical Program, Inc.: Selma, AL
- The Perfect Lifestyle: Houston, TX
- The Wellness Coalition: Montgomery, AL
- Urban Health Resource: Detroit, MI
- Whatley Health Services, Inc.: Tuscaloosa, AL
Do you have a story about how lifestyle change helped you prevent type 2 diabetes? BWHI is looking for stories to share during the prediabetes campaign. Email cyl2@bwhi.org with your story in writing or by video. Please include your name, age and a photo.
For media inquiries please contact Antonice Jackson at ajackson@bwhi.org; 202-370-3630
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About Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life.
Change Your Lifestyle. Change Your Life. (CYL²) is a yearlong program that brings together a small group of individuals to work with their own lifestyle coach to replace bad habits with positive ones. Participants are weighed weekly and keep track of what they eat and how much they “move”. Coaches provide feedback and suggestions based on what the participants report. Participants learn problem-solving skills and coping strategies for overcoming barriers to lifestyle changes, such as shopping for and preparing affordable and healthier meals, emotional eating, food triggers and eating away from home. Since stress-related and emotional eating are such great challenges for participants, special emphasis is placed on developing or enhancing shopping and cooking skills. Group members support each other through these challenges.
Black Women’s Health Imperative
The Black Women’s Health Imperative identifies the most pressing health issues that affect the nation’s 21 million Black women and girls and invest in the best of the best strategies, partners, and organizations that share our goal: ensuring Black women live longer, healthier, more prosperous lives. For more information, please call the Black Women’s Health Imperative at (202) 370-3630 or visit bwhi.org. Find us on Facebook (Black Women’s Health Imperative), Twitter (@BlkWomensHealth) YouTube (Black Women’s Health Imperative) and Instagram (@BlkWomensHealth).
This project is conducted in partnership with the Black Women’s Health Imperative through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.