UH Hilo pharmacy college launches free year-long prediabetes program focusing on lifestyle changes
An informational meeting about the new prediabetes program will be held March 21, 2022, at the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy. The program is open to the public.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The pharmacy college at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is launching a free year-long program to help prediabetic island residents. Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of those with prediabetes, more than 80 percent don’t know they have it.
An introductory meeting about the program will be held Monday, March 21, 2022, 4:00 p.m., at the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy in Hale Kihoʻihoʻi, Classroom A. The program is open to the public.
The program will be facilitated by two practicing pharmacists, Aryn Meguro and Bryce Fukunaga, who are UH Hilo assistant professors of pharmacy practice. Both also are lifestyle coaches certified through the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists.
“This program was developed based on research done at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” explains Meguro, who was born and raised in Hilo and received her pharmacy degree from UH Hilo’s pharmacy college.
“Its goal is to help people who are prediabetic, or those who think they might be, to learn how to choose healthier foods, better manage stress and to incorporate exercise into their lives. Often, people need help to do that, and that’s what we, as lifestyle coaches, can provide.”
“Other program participants can also be important sources of support,” she adds.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of those with prediabetes, more than 80 percent don’t know they have it.
Fukunaga says the first six months of the program is more intense than the second half.
“We start with weekly in-person meetings to provide information and lay the groundwork for making lifestyle changes,” explains Fukunaga, who also received his pharmacy degree from UH Hilo and now practices ambulatory care at Bay Clinic on Hawaiʻi Island.
“Because weight loss is important in improving overall health of people with prediabetes, a program goal for participants is to lose five to seven percent of their body weight in that first six months,” he further explains.
“In the second half of the program, we transition to meeting monthly and helping participants learn how to maintain healthier habits,” he says.
Prediabetes risk tests will be offered at the March 21 informational meeting so that anyone who is interested can come find out if they are eligible for the program.
All meetings will be held on the university’s campus in Hilo.
Register online to sign up for the March 21 meeting or email Assistant Professor Meguro for more information.
Attendees will need to show proof of COVID vaccinations or a negative test result.
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
