Meals with diabetes will be offered in June 2024

By MONIQUE KOERNER
Cottonwood Extension District

Do you have diabetes? Are you supporting someone you know who has diabetes? This course is for you!

Dining with Diabetes is a K-State research and extension health and wellness program that includes a series of four classes including learning, demonstrations, physical activity, and tasting healthy foods . The goal of the program is to help individuals learn strategies to reduce health risks related to diabetes.

Program Objectives

· Increase knowledge about healthy foods

· Introduce healthy versions of familiar foods and taste test recipes

· Demonstrate new cooking techniques

· Provide basic information about diabetes and nutrition

· Provide opportunities to share and learn from each other and diabetes healthcare professionals

Program Description

Dining with Diabetes is a national extension program brought to Kansans by K-State research and extension professionals in family and consumer sciences and community health partners. The program is a series of four 2-hour classes that meet once a week. Classes consist of a presentation on diabetes self-care or healthy food choices; five to ten minutes of low-impact physical activity; presentations on familiar tasty and healthy foods, food samples and demonstrations of cooking techniques using artificial sweeteners, low-fat foods, herbs and spices.

Who can participate?

The program is designed for people with diabetes, prediabetes or at risk of diabetes and their family members, caregivers and support people.

Why eat with diabetes?

Diabetes is a costly disease. The recent research report “Economic Costs of Diabetes in the US in 2017” estimates that the total cost of diagnosed diabetes was $327 billion in 2017, compared to an estimated $245 billion in 2012. This represents an increase of 26% compared to 2017. a five-

period of one year. This cost includes direct medical expenses ($237 billion) and the cost of reduced productivity ($90 billion). According to this study, people with diabetes spend on average 2.3 times more than people without diabetes spend each year on their health. This equates to an average of $16,752 per year per person, of which approximately $9,601 is directly attributed to diabetes. Source: American Diabetes Association, March 2018.

Diabetes is one of the costliest health conditions in Kansas. Diabetes and prediabetes cost Kansas approximately $2.6 billion each year (CDC). More than 50% of spending on type 2 diabetes goes toward treating health problems that could have been avoided through better diabetes management. Research shows that diabetes can be treated and managed through a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and medications to lower blood sugar. The Dining with Diabetes program provides education and training focused on behaviors demonstrated to help people with diabetes stay healthy.

Diabetes by the numbers in Kansas*

About 255,215 people in Kansas, or 11.4% of the adult population, have been diagnosed with diabetes.

In Kansas, an additional 66,000 people have diabetes but don’t know it, significantly increasing their health risk.

There are 782,000 people in Kansas, or 35.3% of the adult population, who have prediabetes with blood sugar levels above normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetic.

Each year, an estimated 20,271 people in Kansas are diagnosed with diabetes.

*Reference – American Diabetes Association October 2021 Report

Dining with Diabetes classes will be offered on June 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2024 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Marcy Allenbaugh Conference Room at the Hays Recreation Center. For more information or to register, please call 785-628-9430 or email (email protected). The cost is $35/person.

Monique Koerner is the Family and Community Wellness Officer at K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You can reach her at: 785-628-9430 or (email protected)