The Youth Diabetes Prevention Program at Riley at IU Health is one part of a large effort to help prevent and manage diabetes in children and adolescents. Pediatric endocrinologists and adolescent medicine doctors work together to ensure your child receives consistent care from childhood into young adulthood.
The Youth Diabetes Prevention Program focuses on identifying children and adolescents ages 10 and up who have risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and helping them improve their health to prevent the condition. Risk factors may include:
- A strong family history of Type 2 diabetes
- Elevated blood sugar levels
Many of the adolescents are referred to the program by their primary care doctor to receive additional treatment, education on the condition and advice on how to improve their health.
Doctors with the Youth Diabetes Prevention Program will help you and your child understand his or her risk for Type 2 diabetes and how to lower this risk. Your child will receive the support of registered dietitians, certified personal trainers, physicians and other healthcare professionals who understand the health needs of growing youth.
To become part of the program you and your child will come to an appointment in Indianapolis where he or she will meet with specialized nurses and a doctor. During the appointment, your child will have a physical exam, undergo various lab tests and review any symptoms he or she has as well as your family's medical history. The doctor will talk to your child to find out what he or she knows about diabetes and help him or her learn more about diabetes prevention.
Every child and teenager in the Youth Diabetes Prevention Program receives a personalized plan to follow, including specific goals they can work to achieve. Goals might include changing their diet or increasing their physical activity. The plan is also shared with your child's primary care doctor so he or she can better monitor and manage your child's health. In some cases, adolescents and their families may also see psychologists who can help them find ways to change their behaviors, overcome barriers and get the whole family involved in getting healthier.
The Youth Diabetes Prevention Program is a new program that is fulfilling a vital need for young people and families in Indiana. Our expert physicians have years of experience caring for children and adolescents with diabetes and understand how to deliver care specialized to them.
Conditions & Services
Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.
Experienced physicians from multiple departments treat young people in the Youth Diabetes Prevention Program.
For Health Professionals
The Youth Diabetes Prevention Program takes referrals from primary care physicians from all over Indiana. We provide guidance to patients and physicians to help improve the health of adolescents and children.
Physicians with the Youth Diabetes Prevention Program also perform advanced research on diabetes prevention and treatment in young people.
Refer A Patient
Riley at IU Health works with referring physicians in Indiana and beyond.Refer A Patient
Visit the Youth Diabetes Prevention Clinic at Indiana University School of Medicine for information about the latest research in the field of endocrinology.
Both the Adolescent Medicine and Diabetes & Endocrinology departments at Riley at IU Health host three-year fellowships to help physicians learn more about treating adolescents with diabetes. During these fellowships, physicians will spend some time with the Youth Diabetes Prevention Program helping young people and their families. As part of a yearlong adolescent medicine training seminar, other healthcare professionals, including nurses, social workers, dietitians and psychologists, may also take part in the program.