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Life! - helping you to prevent diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
'Life! - helping you to prevent diabetes, heart disease and stroke' is a primary care-based lifestyle behaviour change program for 25,000 Victorians aged 50 years and over, and Aboriginal Victorians of all ages, who are identified as at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Australia - Victoria are the lead agency for the Life! program and the GGT UDRH is conducting the training of program facilitators and has a leading role in the evaluation and development of the Life! program.
Participation in the Life! program is initiated via an easy to use risk assessment tool - the Diabetes Risk Test - that assesses the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A person's level of risk is confirmed in a visit to their General Practitioner (GP). Those at high risk (with scores >15) then undergo a series of clinical tests and physical measures, including height, weight and waist circumference measurements. They are referred to a lifestyle behavioural change program of six group sessions - the first five sessions are at fortnightly intervals and the final session is at eight months.
Topics covered in the sessions include understanding food and the healthy eating guidelines; the benefits of being healthy and active, and how to reduce the risk factors for diabetes. Participants are supported to set achievable healthy eating and physical activity goals and to work through any issues that may be barriers to achieving their goals.
(Left to Right - Professor James Dunbar (Director GGT UDRH), Dr Amy Timoshanko (Manager, Prevention and Health Promotion, Diabetes Australia - Victoria) and Adjunct Professor Greg Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Diabetes Australia - Victoria).
For information on program eligibility contact the Life! helpline on 13 7475 (13 RISK), or email life@diabetesvic.org.au
Grant Details
Related Projects
- Greater Green Triangle Diabetes Prevention Project Initiative
- Melbourne Diabetes Prevention Study (MDPS); A Randomised Control Trial of its Efficacy, Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness
- Type 2 Diabetes and Depression: Assessing the Prevalence in Victoria and Identifying Effective Public Health Interventions