UPEI researchers aim to help Islanders improve health through CHANGE program
Researchers from UPEI’s Health and Wellness Centre and the Department of Applied Human Sciences are seeking participants for a free lifestyle intervention program called CHANGE, which stands for Canadian Health Advanced by Nutrition and Graded Exercise.
The 12-month program will be offered in communities across Prince Edward Island. To be eligible, participants must have or be at risk of metabolic syndrome. Individuals with metabolic syndrome have three or more of these five conditions: high blood pressure, insulin resistance (diabetes or pre-diabetes), abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, and low HDL-cholesterol. Participants will have their glucose and lipids level checked a total of five times over the year, as well as measurements of fitness, waist circumference, blood pressure, and heart rate.
Participants can be referred by their physician or nurse practitioner, or they can sign up directly by contacting a member of the study team at 902-620-5156. During the study, they will work with kinesiologist Angelie Carter and registered dietitian Jenneca Pomeroy who will provide them with personalized exercise and nutrition plans.
Principal investigator Marilyn Barrett, director of the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre, stressed that the study is not a weight loss program.
“This is a lifestyle intervention study,” she said. “According to recent studies, 19 per cent of Canadians have metabolic syndrome, and one in five Islanders has high blood pressure, which is one of the indicators of the syndrome. Through the CHANGE program, we will provide participants with the tools they need to better manage health conditions they may have and improve their overall health.”
The CHANGE program was created by Metabolic Syndrome Canada, a not-for-profit organization founded in 2011 to improve the long-term health of Canadians through effective direct and exercise lifestyle intervention. The program at UPEI is funded by donors to the UPEI Community Outreach Fund.
For more information, contact Marilyn Barrett at 902-566-0355 or mbarrett@upei.ca.
