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Health department starts new class to prevent diabetes

Frederick News-Post - 9/17/2018

Sept. 17--Losing weight. Exercise. Structure. Kids. Those were among the reasons that members of a health department program dedicated to preventing type 2 diabetes shared for joining the group.

Prevent T2 is a year-long program that helps people who often are pre-diabetic from developing type 2 diabetes. Over the course, the group will learn healthier ways to eat and make lifestyle changes.

The class meets at the Frederick Senior Center and attracts people from all over the county. After sharing their reasons for joining and what they hoped to get out of the classes, the group pledges to lose about 5 percent of their body weight and exercise each week. The goal is based on a three-year study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Christine Pelkowski, community health educator.

It's the seventh group Pelkowski has organized, she said. This class started out with about 13 people, and while she said she hopes people commit to the program, she expects a couple to drop.

But for now, the class was ready to make life changes. Many spoke about how they had tried to lose weight on their own, and even if they were successful, they had gained of it some back. Class members said they were hopeful for the structure of the program, including Libertytown resident Bonnie Byrd.

"I've tried to do it on my own, and it didn't happen," Byrd said.

She's hoping to lose weight and get healthier. She said she was looking forward to learning new ways to prevent her from falling back into her poor eating habits.

"I am motivated to do it," she said, "but it's easy for me to slide back into those old habits."

Pelkowski said that she leads the program because she likes to help motivate people but she also does it because it addresses a gap.

"There's a definite need for diabetes intervention in Frederick County," she said.

There will be 26 different topics, ranging in physical activity, to managing stress, to managing food proportions. And while Pelkowski is leading the class, she sees herself as a facilitator. The class runs the meeting, she said.

"At the same time, it's a support group," she said.

And to keep with that message, the group sat around tables in a circle instead of in a traditional classroom style. It allowed the group to converse with each other, which is what Pelkowski wants. Already, the group has sparked conversations, which means she doesn't have to push them to talk as she has had to do with other classes.

The class is a commitment, she said. It starts off weekly, but by the second half of the year, it will meet bi-monthly or once a month. And while once a week sounds like a commitment, she said that many people want it to stay once a week because of the structure.

"I really hope they keep coming," she said.

The health department will welcome newcomers to the program until next class, even though the program has already started, she said. To enroll in the free program, call 301-600-3113 or sign up online on the health department's website.

Follow Heather Mongilio on Twitter: @HMongilio

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