Thrive at UC San Diego

The UC Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) is a one-year lifestyle change program based on research led by the National Institute of Health and is open to all UC San Diego faculty and staff, and their family members. DPP is designed for individuals 18 years and older who have pre-diabetes or are at risk for type 2 diabetes.

This program provides lifestyle education, encouragement, and the tools necessary to help you reach your health goals. This is a proven CDC program that cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes in half. The program is made successful due to the collaboration of the Recreation Department, Housing Dining and Hospitality, Human Resources, and volunteers within the UCSD community, and is free of charge.

The program includes:

• 22 one-hour hybrid group sessions led by trained lifestyle coaches.
  • Weekly meetings for the first 12 weeks, then every two weeks, then monthly 
• Information on nutrition, ways to increase physical activity, stress management techniques, and diabetes prevention education.
• Group discussions and problem-solving strategies for overcoming common challenges to lifestyle change. 

For more information or if you have additional questions, please contact kshedd@hs.uci.edu and ssoetenga@recreation.ucla.edu.

Additional resources: UC Diabetes Prevention Program FAQs

Learn about the Wellness Ambassadors Program, created to form a health-minded work community here for all UC San Diego staff and faculty.

Wellness Ambassadors are

The 2022-2023 HHC HAS ENDED - CONGRATS AND THANK YOU TO ALL THAT PARTICIPATED!

Holidays are often a time when our efforts to stay healthy through exercise, nutrition and stress reduction evade us.  To help you stay on track this year, join UCSD Recreation and UCSD Health in the 8-week Healthy Holiday Challenge, running November 14, 2022 - January 6, 2023.  

Each week you will receive an email and challenge to keep your healthy habits going. This will include areas such as movement, nutrition, stress reduction, goal setting, and more!

Walker Tracker program

This year, we will be using Walker Tracker again, as part of our 8-week Healthy Holiday Challenge. 

Walker Tracker is an app-based physical activity platform that records your steps from walking or from your favorite physical activity (e.g., aerobics, bicycling). When you sync or manually enter your steps to your account, your entries move you closer to the finish line. 

Winter Wellness Step Challenge Registration

2022-2023 Healthy Holiday Challenge Registration is now open. Registration will remain open throughout the duration of the program.

Steps to register:

1. Go to this website https://ucsd.walkertracker.com/
2. Click on the “Sign Up Today” button
   
3. Fill out all of the fields on the next two pages
   • Please use your official UC San Diego email address
   • Daily Step Goal – you can enter 7,000 per day as this is the pace needed to complete the challenge
4. After you submit your registration, you should be automatically entered in the "Winter Wellness Step Challenge."

How the Program Works

We will be using a holiday-themed challenge that takes you to festive places throughout the USA, and share some interesting history of these locations along the way!

You'll receive weekly emails with encouragement, camaraderie, and some fun photo challenge prompts! There will be prizes given to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, as well as random prize drawings throughout the challenge that are open to all who actively participate.

How to Measure Steps

Remember to update your steps and activities daily to help yourself move closer to the finish line!

There are multiple ways for you to measure steps:

1. Sync your fitness device or cellphone fitness app to your Walker Tracker account so that your steps are uploaded automatically
2. Manually enter your steps if you don’t have a fitness device
3. Convert approved fitness activities into steps using the Walker Tracker activity converter and manually enter those converted steps

   • The Walker Tracker activity converter allows for manual entry of activities that are performed without using a tracking device. This activity converter is a very important feature as it allows participation of those who don't have a tracking device or enjoy other activities rather than walking/running.

     Please honor the integrity of the program by using the converter as it was intended. So, for example, if you are wearing your FitBit all day, tracking your steps, and you decide to hit a Zumba class on your way home and forget to take off your FitBit before class, you cannot allow your FitBit to collect steps while you are in Zumba and then go home and add an hour of Zumba to your day through the activity converter.

     Please remember that the goal of the challenge is to offer a fun way for everyone to be more active, improve their health and have a better quality of life. We do not want the possibility of false results to prevent the challenge from being a positive one for everyone.

Walker Tracker Guides

• If you have any questions please reference these documents below:
  • Getting Started Guide
  • iPhone App and Apple HealthKit Setup Guide
  • iPhone Detailed Guide
  • Android App Setup Guide
  • Fitbit Setup Guide
  • Walker Tracker FAQs
  • How to upload a photo on Walker Tracker

Walker Tracker Support

• If you have any questions throughout the challenge regarding Walker Tracker (ex. how to sync your device, manually enter steps, etc.) please visit: https://support.walkertracker.com/.

• The Walker Tracker Support email is very helpful and they are pretty responsive: Walker Tracker Support support@walkertracker.com.

If you require any accommodations to participate in this program, please contact us at tguglielmo@ucsd.edu.

UC San Diego is now a Smoke & Tobacco Free campus. 

For more information about Smoke-Free UCSD, refer to their website for more details.

Other Related Online Resources

• California Smokers' Helpline is a free telephone program to help quit smoking
• KP HealthWorks - Quit Smoking