• Valencia College

• GLOBAL PER 153

Diabetes Prevention Health Promotion Program Proposal 1 Diabetes Prevention among African American Introduction Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy (CDC,2020). There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant) (CDC,2020). Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake) that stops your body from making insulin. Type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2 and gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes (CDC,2020). In the United States, 88 million adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. What’s more, more than 84% of them don’t know they have it. With prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes raises your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke (CDC,2020). In 2018, non-Hispanic blacks were twice as likely as nonHispanic whites to die from diabetes. African American adults are 60 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes by a physician (HHS,2021). Lifestyle changes intended at decreasing energy intake and increasing physical activity is the principal therapy for overweight and obese patients with type 2 diabetes (Klein et al., 2004). The prevalence of diabetes in the United States continues to rise by epidemic proportions (Klein et al., 2004). Obesity is a well-known persistent risk factor for diabetes. Diabetes disease is a growing public health problem that has become recognized globally as an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Diabetes disparities in African Americans may be related to many factors such as low socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and race/ethnicity (CDC, 2020). According to CDC, African