Diabetes costs Kentucky 3.85 billion annually. According to 2016 Kentucky data, more than 13.1% of Kentucky adults have been diagnosed with diabetes – an increase of 50% since 2000. If these trends continue, 1 in 3 Kentuckians will develop diabetes sometime in their life. Those with diabetes lose an average of 10-15 years of potential life and can develop serious complications such as cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and non-traumatic lower extremity amputations.

Specifically, 13% of adults in Grayson County have been diagnosed with diabetes and another 1/3 of the adult population are living at increased risk of diabetes (prediabetes). Due to limited resources available in the county, community members and local healthcare providers frequently look to the local Cooperative Extension Service for information for individuals managing diet-related chronic diseases. Nutrition is the cornerstone of diabetes management and prevention and Dining with Diabetes helps Kentuckians manage their own or that of a loved one’s diabetes through nutrition education. To respond to this need, this four-class series was hosted by the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent at the Grayson County Cooperative Extension Office in partnership with the Grayson County Health Department to serve a regularly meeting diabetes support group.

The goal of Dining with Diabetes is to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors with a focus on participants learning how to prepare healthy, well-balanced meals without compromising taste. For those that participated in the program, 83% of participants reported they prepared healthier home-cooked meals and 83% reported they intentionally chose smaller portions to help manage their diabetes or the diabetes of a loved one as a result of the program. Half of the participants reported exercising continuously for at least 30 minutes at least 3 times per week. Finally, 100% of participants reported at the conclusion of the program that they felt more confident in their ability to keep their diabetes under control or help a loved one keep their diabetes under control.