All 10 campuses now have a UC Diabetes Prevention Program (UC DPP), which is free for all faculty and staff thanks to the work of the Global Food Initiative’s Healthy Campus Network (HCN).
The UC DPP is a year-long program that follows the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Diabetes Program. Completing a Diabetes Prevention Program has been shown to reduce the chance of getting type 2 diabetes almost 60%. That means you have less than half the chance of getting type 2 diabetes by completing the program!
DPP Participants meet for one-hour sessions in small ‘cohorts’ with 10–20 faculty and staff members who are at-risk for diabetes. Led by trained lifestyle coaches, these sessions help participants learn to meet their health goals through education, encouragement and tools — including stress management techniques, tips for increasing physical activity, nutrition information and motivational support. Participants track their progress throughout the year, participating in weigh-ins and measuring time spent exercising. The program’s goal is for participants to lose 5-7% of their overall body weight while exercising at least 150 minutes each week. The program is hosted either in person or virtually via Zoom depending on the campus.
