SOUTH JORDAN — When Kevin Anderson went for his annual physical last year, his A1C levels were back in the pre-diabetic range. A1C tests measure the average blood sugar level a person has over a three-month period
“It scared me a little bit,” he said. “I would hate to cut my life short.”
His father died of heart disease and kidney failure due to diabetes, and Anderson didn’t want to go down the same path. So the 67-year-old decided to take charge of his own health.
“My wife found this ‘Way to Wellness’ class (through Intermountain),” he said. “It talks about nutrition, things you should eat, things you should avoid.”
He said the most enjoyable part was the trip to the local supermarket where the nutritionists showed them how to read food packaging.
“That helped tremendously,” he said.
“Way to Wellness” is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-approved diabetes prevention program through Intermountain Health. The yearlong program includes 20 in-person or virtual group classes on healthy eating, physical fitness, sleep and stress management. The program also offers one-on-one consultations with a dietitian.
“It helps them to actually become more independent in their health,” said Melanie Holden, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at Intermountain Health. “It’s so, so encouraging to see them make those changes and be able to make those changes for the rest of their lives.”
Anderson has been on the program for almost a year and has noticed a significant difference, not only in his weight (he’s lost 30 pounds in the past year), but also in how he feels overall.
“I feel better. My health is better. I feel like I have more energy. I can do more things,” he said.
For more information about the Way to Wellness program, visit intermountainhealth.org.
Intermountain also offers “Way to Wellness Bites”: free 90-minute classes to give participants a taste of the year-long program.