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Halt diabetes in its tracks Adjust diet, improve exercise habits and reduce stress with Livongo By Steve Metsch Highmark Clinical Strategy Consultant Rebekah Beil, a Registered Nurse, says the Diabetes Prevention Program aims to help those who have prediabetes from developing diabetes. An online eligibility quiz has questions about family history and one’s blood sugar. “In 2010, the CDC saw diabetes exploding,” Beil says. “They came up with kind of the foundation for what an effective DPP program is.” The year-long program teaches people how to eat right, the importance of exercise, and how to handle stress. “It will be something like tracking your food for a week (and asks) what do you feel like when you eat that food,” Beil says. “Small steps that aggregate make huge, huge differences.” The goal is to make behavioral changes that have a lasting impact, rather than a quick fix. “The ultimate goal of this is they want you to lose 5 percent of our starting weight,” she says. “That seems much more manageable than saying, ‘I weigh 200 pounds. I need to lose 50 pounds in six months.’” She says that losing 5 percent of weight is often enough to take people out of the risk for developing diabetes. Commitment, she notes, may get harder with age. But it’s something one needs to consider, especially with the many health problems and risks associated with diabetes. “It just makes you think about taking care of yourself,” she says of the prevention program. “This kind of helps guide them for the support they need.”

Achieve 60 Green Days Challenge: You join the ACSHIC Green Day Challenge in ShareCare to get started. Engage in the Livongo Diabetes Prevention Program: This entails enrolling and activating your ac- count at www.well360.livongo.com to start tracking your blood sugar. Complete four sessions of the Dia- betes Prevention Program: Visit Highmarkbcbs.com and select Diabetes Prevention to determine if you are eligible and to enroll. “I’m expecting a good breakout in the five,” Balko says. “The good thing with these options is that we do sort of tailor it for the person, how they best want to work on their wellness.” You must pre-qualify for either of the diabetes-related programs. “If they have prediabetes they can take a questionnaire to see if they qualify for the diabetes prevention program,” she says. “The first three programs anyone can do.” Balko likes the RealAge program be- cause people can choose between diet, sleep, stress and physical activity. “They pick which one they want to work on and just have to track at least four times a week for three weeks,” she

that day in order to get them thinking about their health. To start earning reward points, users must create an account at mycare.sharecare.com. Be sure to enter your information exactly as it appears on your Highmark member ID card. If you have an existing ShareCare account, you can sign in with that user- name and password. Once you have an account, you can access rewards on the Sharecare website or by downloading the Sharecare app. If you are new to EdLogics, you may register at myedlogics.com. You may register on or after Jan. 1 to start earning wellness rewards points through June 30, 2020.

says. “What’s great about the RealAge program is when a member picks a lifestyle category of their choice, they’ ll start to get information based on that topic in their timeline.” The 60 Green Days Challenge tries to get people focused on their health. Once you reach “green” status in at least eight of the 13 categories, you’ ll earn a Green Day and be one step clos- er to lowering your RealAge. “For me, I just have to answer four or five questions a day, and I get a Green Day (reward),” Balko says. “It’s based on your lifestyle already. It’s a short questionnaire each day.” Questions are broad, such as what level of stress a person may be feeling

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