Improve the Nation's Nutrition and Health
"Dining With Diabetes" Program for Older Adults
Impact Nugget
Food choice is critical in treating diabetes; of 57 older adults who
attended a 2004 nutrition and recipe preparation program, 81 percent
reported that they tried one or more of the recipes at home, and 60
percent reported making dietary changes: reading labels, reducing portion
sizes, reducing fat content in meals and eating out less.
Issue
One of the themes for the initiative Healthy Arizona 2010 is to “promote
good health and quality of life for all older adults in Arizona.”
This is a challenge because obesity and diabetes are epidemics according
to the American Medical Association (2001). Although Arizona's rate
for obesity is average compared to other states, its diabetes rate falls
in the second-highest category established by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Diabetes is currently the 7th leading cause
of death in Arizona, according to the state health department. In rural
areas, people diagnosed with diabetes have access to few resources to
help them manage this chronic disease. Patients are told to “lose
weight and eat healthy,” but few of them receive sufficient instructions
to implement these changes. Increasing requests for diabetes information
have been noted.
What has been done?
The “Dining with Diabetes” program, offered for the first
time in the state through Arizona Cooperative Extension, provides education
and hands-on demonstrations that show easy ways to make dietary and
lifestyle changes. The goal is to help adults primarily over age 65
improve their health by better managing their blood glucose levels,
thereby decreasing the risk of diabetes-related complications. The curriculum
“Dining with Diabetes” was originally from West Virginia.
The program consists of three weekly 2-hour sessions where participants
are educated in basic nutrition principles related to diabetes, with
demonstrations and tasting of healthy recipes.
Following a successful pilot program in Fall 2002, a Healthy Aging
2010 mini-grant was funded to conduct the program in the rural areas
of Lake Havasu City, Bullhead City and Kingman, Arizona. The grant partnership
included the county health department and the county seniors program.
Three complete sessions of “Dining with Diabetes” were conducted
in the three cities during 2004. A total of 104 participants attended
at least one session of the program. Of those, 79 attended two sessions
and 60 completed all three.
Impact
Participants rated the program overall at 9.42 on a scale of 1-10 where
10 = High. A pre/post test measured an overall knowledge gain of 22
percent. Participants expressed an increased confidence in their ability
to select and prepare healthy meals for the diabetic person: on a pre-survey
only 14 participants said they were “very sure” they could
do this, but at the end of the sessions, this number had increased to
38.
A six-week followup survey was conducted to determine if any changes
in eating habits or lifestyle had been made. Of the 60 participants
who completed both sessions of the program, 57 surveys were returned.
Of these, 81 percent reported that they had tried one or more of the
recipes demonstrated at home. Sixty percent reported making dietary
changes--reading labels, reducing portion sizes, reducing fat consumption
and eating out less–and exercising more. This project filled a
demonstrated need. Participants were eager and enthusiastic learners.
Based on the feedback, it seems apparent that once they learned which
changes needed to be made, they were willing to make them. Several reported
decreased blood glucose levels and weight loss since attending the program.
Testimonials from participants:
“I”ve been able to use the info to adjust my diet and bring
my glucose reading from over 200 down to almost 130 by reading labels
and limiting my carbs.”
“Changed diet completely. Don’t eat out as often as before.
Diabetes under control by watching diet and getting more exercise.”
“I did not know about counting carbohydrates before the Dining
with Diabetes [class]. I have shared information learned with my diabetic
sons.”
“I have changed my eating habits and the doctors are happy with
the results.”
“I do the cooking for my diabetic husband and all the information
from the classes was very helpful. He has even lost some weight since
watching the amount of carbohydrates he eats.”
Funding
Arizona Department of Health–Office of Healthy Aging 2010
Contact
Lynne Durrant
Agent, family and consumer sciences
Arizona Cooperative Extension, Mohave County
The University of Arizona
101 E. Beale Street, Suite A
Kingman AZ 86401-5827
Tel: (928) 753-3788 FAX: (928) 753-1665
Email: ldurrant@cals.arizona.edu
Return to the Title Page
Return to the Table
of Contents |