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For Immediate Release: 5/23/08

Program Offers Help for African–Americans Combating Diabetes

While diabetes is on the rise across Missouri, the state's African–American population is especially at risk. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is recommending a new program that focuses on helping African–Americans prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

The program, Power to Prevent: A Family Lifestyle Approach to Diabetes Prevention, focuses on two of the most important aspects a person can do to prevent diabetes: improve eating habits and increase physical activity.

"The Power to Prevent program will be an important tool for Missourians who are looking for advice and lifestyle changes they can implement to combat the threat of diabetes," Gov. Matt Blunt said.

"The Power to Prevent program was created for African–Americans, but it offers great advice for anyone interested in preventing type 2 diabetes," said Victoria Warren, manager of the health department's Diabetes Prevention and Control Program.

Compared to the general population, African–Americans are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes than whites. Nearly 25 percent of the African–American population between the ages of 65 and 74 has the disease, with one out of every four African–American women over 55 diagnosed with diabetes.

The health implications of diabetes are devastating, leading to incidents of blindness, kidney disease, amputations and earlier deaths due to stroke and heart disease. These health outcomes are even worse for African– Americans:

• African–Americans are almost 50 percent more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy as non–Hispanic whites.
• Kidney disease is 2.6 to 5.6 times as likely for African–Americans with more than 4,000 new cases of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) diagnosed each year because of the higher prevalence of diabetes.
• African–Americans are 2.7 times as likely to suffer from lower–limb amputations due to diabetes.

The main theme for the Power to Prevent program is that small steps lead to big rewards. Research shows that people who are at a high risk for diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of the disease by losing just 5 to 7 percent of their body weight. Furthermore, that weight loss can be accomplished by reducing fat and calorie intake while getting just 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week. The program offers more than 50 other ways to help prevent diabetes as well.

"These are simple steps that anyone can take to reduce diabetes," said Warren. "By tapping into resources rich in the African–American community, such as family, community, and faith–based organizations and other program leaders, Power to Prevent can be an excellent resource that will assist African–Americans in making healthy lifestyle changes for themselves and their families."

More information is available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Power to Prevent web site: www.cdc.gov/diabetes/ndep/power_to_prevent.htm or by going to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services' diabetes Web site: www.dhss.mo.gov/diabetes/.

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