Diabetes Dateline

Small Steps. Big Rewards. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Campaign Is Making Big Strides

"Get Real! You don't have to be a marathon runner or eat like a bird to prevent diabetes!" That's the key message in the National Diabetes Education Program's (NDEP) "Small Steps. Big Rewards. Prevent Type 2 Diabetes" campaign.

Launched in November 2002 by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, the campaign has reached millions of Americans with television and print public service ads (PSAs) and with stories about diabetes prevention in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Woman's Day, and Essence Magazine.

The "Small Steps. Big Rewards." campaign translates the findings of the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). This major NIH-funded clinical trial found that over the 3 years of the study, moderate weight loss through a low-fat diet and 30 minutes of physical activity on most days sharply reduced the chances that a person with impaired glucose tolerance (or pre-diabetes) would go on to develop diabetes.

NDEP is taking the lead in the Department of Health and Human Services to promote this important prevention message to people at risk for diabetes and their families, to health care providers, and to payers and purchasers of care. A group of DPP behavioral researchers has worked with NDEP to develop practical, easy-to-use lifestyle educational materials based on the strategies used in the DPP. In addition, members of the Medical Fitness Association and the Bureau of Primary Health Care Diabetes Prevention Collaborative assisted NDEP in assessing the materials by distributing them among their patients and providers and collecting their comments.

The diabetes prevention education materials are compiled in the "Small Steps. Big Rewards." GAME PLAN toolkit for health care providers. GAME PLAN stands for

Goals, Accountability, Monitoring and Effectiveness: Prevention through a Lifestyle of Activity and Nutrition

Each toolkit contains

• a "how to" guide with suggestions for helping patients with behavior change
  
  
• information on diabetes prevention, including risk factors and a decision pathway for identifying those at risk
  
  
• an office poster with the "Get Real" message to encourage interest from patients
  
  
• 3 sets of GAME PLAN booklets for patients:
  
  — Small Steps. Big Rewards. Your GAME PLAN for Preventing Type 2 Diabetes (lists risk factors, gives information on setting goals, and provides tips on starting a walking program)
  
  — Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? (presents basic information on pre-diabetes and diabetes, a list of risk factors, and a body mass index chart to use in determining whether patients are overweight)
  
  — Food and Activity Tracker (a logbook for recording food intake and physical activity)
  
  — Small Steps. Big Rewards. Fat and Calorie Counter (a reference booklet of calorie and fat gram values)

Copier-ready versions of several of these booklets are also available in the kit. In addition, health professionals can purchase a two-CD set of the printed materials. All materials are copyright free and can be reproduced without permission. To view materials and the PSA online, go to http://www.ndep.nih.gov/diabetes/prev/prevention.htm. For information on ordering the materials, go to www.ndep.nih.gov or call the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse at 1–800–860–8747.

To obtain additional print materials related to diabetes prevention, health care providers can now access the Lifestyle Manuals of Operations used by the DPP sites. Background materials, program ideas, and participant handouts are included. To view the DPP manuals, go to www.bsc.gwu.edu/dpp/manuals.htmlvdoc.

NIH Publication No. 04–4562
May 2004