Air Force photograph by Senior Airman Monet Villacorte

Airman Nicole Kozuboski and Airman 1st Class Jenaci Ramirez, 56th Medical Support Squadron Lab Technicians, practice blood-drawing procedures, March 26, 2019, at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. The GLB program partnered with the lab to assist with participant health assessments. This includes analyzing blood-work to examine potential risk for diabetes and to compare any changes that may occur by the end of the program.

The 56th Medical Group at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., is introducing a new fitness and nutrition program run by the health promotions office by spring 2019 called Group Lifestyle Balance.

The GLB program is a comprehensive and integrative initiative that focuses on nutrition, physical activity and behavior changes to improve oveall health and wellness with the ultimate goal of preventing diabetes and improving body mass index.

Esther Bustamante, a dietician with the Health Promotions office explained that the program is a voluntary year-long commitment for anyone that has specific health goals in mind or who are at high-risk for diabetes.

“We are utilizing it [the GLB program] as a worksite wellness program to positively impact the health of the active duty members to support mission readiness and performance, on and off the job,” said Bustamante.

The program is currently in its testing phase with a small group trialing the courses’ objective for a full year.

“It started on March 1, and we have nine participants,” said Bustamante. “We started with a small class to pilot it and we’re hoping to expand in the coming months.”

Air Force photograph by Senior Airman Monet Villacorte

Dr. John Gassaway, Clinical Sports Psychologist with the Human Performance Team teaches participants of the Group Lifestyle Balance Program about SMART goals, March 26, 2019, at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. Education classes are offered once a week and cover an array of nutritional topics such as healthy food choices, exercise tips and goal-setting guidance.

The GLB program is free and offers a full array of support functions to help participants reach their goal while tracking their progress through classes and physical evaluations.

  “We have education and mini physical training support sessions. Education is one day a week for an hour and our mini PT support sessions are three days a week,” said Bustamante. “There is also a comprehensive assessment that’s going to include body composition with the bod-pod and we have coordinated with the medical group laboratory to get blood-work set up.”

To assist with making those lifestyle adjustments members of the program are also using other resources to document their habits such as pedometers and food tracking apps.

“What I enjoy most about the program is the structure,” said a GLB member. “The information that they give us is very helpful to change our behaviors and the applications that we’re using are really good and eye-opening.”

For more information on the GLB program, contact the Health Promotions Office at 623-856-5902.