According to State and County health data, Garrard County adult population over 20 is 35% obese, with the American Diabetes Association estimating 15.3% of adult population in Garrard County has been diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes costs Kentucky approximately 5.2 billion each year. the Garrard County Cooperative Extension Service partnered with the Garrard County Library to present Dining with Diabetes to adults with diabetes and/or family members responsible for meal planning and preparation. Also partnered with the registered nurse from the Garrard County Health Department to teach the basics of diabetes at the first of four sessions. 18 adults participated in one or more of the lessons. 12 adults participated in all four of the lessons. 

As a result of the program and reported on post surveys and informal polling of participants, 64% reported exercising continuously for 30 minutes on 3 or more days of the week. 100% reported they cooked more meals at home and 90% utilize portion control as one way to manage diabetes. Seventy three percent feel confident they can keep their diabetes under control or help the person they care for keep their diabetes under control. Seventy-three percent also reported using the recipes provided by the program during the session weeks. 

All but one participant reported reducing portion sizes after learning more about what portions were and how to represent more accurately. The one that did not reduce learned more about her carb counting and realized she had reduced too much. She realized she could have 45-60 carbs per meal instead of the 40-45 she had thought, hence, she was trying to increase her portions of good foods. 

This 4-week series will be followed by a three month period of time and then meet again to assess how everyone is doing. Dining with Diabetes will also be repeated in the coming year. The topics that participants seemed to need the most were about portions and portion control, reading labels, importance of fiber to the diabetic person and learning new recipes or how to adapt old recipes.