If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, living with the condition can be challenging. 

But it’s also manageable and even preventable.

Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well is offering a free class to serve as a primer for those at risk of — or recently diagnosed with — type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes 101 is a two-hour introduction to type 2 diabetes, discussing the risks of the disease, what causes it, how to prevent it and effective strategies in managing it.

Led by a certified diabetes educator and registered and licensed dietitian, Diabetes 101 goes beyond what you can learn in a physician’s exam room. The class provides you with the insight and understanding you need to make meaningful changes in your health.

Upcoming classes are scheduled in Bremen in October and Carrollton in November. Each scheduled Diabetes 101 class begins at 5:30 p.m.

When it comes to improving the health of the community, education is key. That’s why Get Healthy, Live Well is offering Diabetes 101 to residents in Carroll and Haralson counties where diabetes rates are higher than the state and national averages.

Only nine states have more people living with diabetes than Georgia. Poorly managed diabetes is the No. 1 cause of kidney failure, lower limb amputation and adult-onset blindness. And individuals with diabetes can spend 2.5-times as much on medical costs than those who don’t have diabetes.

Registration is available online at tanner.org/classes-and-events. For more information or to register by phone, call 770-214-CARE (2273).