The Life! Program

A free Victorian healthy lifestyle program

The Life! program is a free Victorian healthy lifestyle program that helps you improve your eating habits, physical activity and stress management.

Run by expert health professionals, the program is delivered as a group course service and shows you how to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Changing your lifestyle isn't easy, especially on your own.

The Life! program gives you the motivation and support needed to make and maintain positive changes and to live a healthier and more active lifestyle. This approach has been shown to be more effective than taking medication and has a long-term positive effect on your health.

Since 2007, over 60,000 Victorians have learnt more about the steps they can take to live a healthy life. Funded by the Victorian Government and coordinated by Diabetes Victoria it is the largest prevention program of its kind in Australia.

The first step is to check your eligibility. You can do this now by using our FREE online test. It will only take 3 minutes.

What people are saying about The Life! Program

“I feel more confident cooking healthy meals and feel so much better eating lighter meals. When I get the chance to exercise, I sleep better at night and overall I have more energy.” Mala - Life Program Participant

“The Life! program showed me how to develop and maintain healthy eating habits, how to fit exercise into a busy lifestyle and find ways to stay motivated.” Hitendra - Life Program Participant

It's time to take care of you

If you are 18 years or over and

scored 12 or higher on the Diabetes Risk Test
have Body Mass Index score of 25 or higher (or 23 if you are of Asian background*), or
have had gestational diabetes

You may be eligible for the program. Complete your online diabetes risk test below and remember to press submit at the end.

Your First name

Your Surname

Your email address

Phone Number

Referred by

If your health care professional is filling this in with you put their details here. Otherwise leave blank

1. Your age group

2. Your gender

3. Ethnicity (a)

Are you of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Pacific Islander or Maori descent?

Ethnicity (b)

Where were you born?

4. Family History

Have either of your parents, or any of your brothers or sisters been diagnosed with diabetes (type 1 or type 2)?

5. Blood Glucose

Have you ever been found to have high blood glucose (sugar) for example, in a health examination, during an illness, during pregnancy?

6. Smoking

Do you currently smoke cigarettes or any other tobacco products on a daily basis?

7. Food intake

How often do you eat vegetables or fruit?

8. Exercise habits

On average, would you say you do at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week (for example, 30 minutes a day on 5 or more days a week)?

9. Your waist measurement

Your waist measurement taken below the ribs (usually at the level of the navel, while standing). Unsure of your waist measurement - match your clothing size to help

Waist score

For those of Asian or Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent:

Waist score

For all others:

ADD UP YOUR POINTS

Did you score 12 or more? You are at HIGH RISK, submit your form and we'll get in touch

Exercise for Rehabilitation & Health are the longest running and most successful provider of the Life! Program in the state.

So successful that we train incoming health professionals in collaboration with Diabetes Victoria. We were humbled to speak in Parliament about our success and set the standards for all other providers in the state. Read about us more here

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs in about 5-10 per cent of pregnancies and usually disappears after birth. It significantly increases a woman's risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

Gestational diabetes arises in certain women who cannot overcome the insulin resistance that develops during pregnancy. In most cases, the condition goes away after the baby is delivered. However, women who have gestational diabetes have increased risks of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

Download Understanding Gestational Diabetes

Can Diabetes Be Prevented?

Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 can be prevented

Up to 60% of type 2 diabetes can be prevented. People at risk of type 2 diabetes can delay and even prevent this condition by following a healthy lifestyle. This includes:

Maintaining a healthy weight
Doing regular physical activity
Making healthy food choices
Managing blood pressure
Managing cholesterol levels
Not smoking

The Life! program can help you to reduce your risk of diabetes heart disease and stroke.

_{Source: Diabetes Victoria Life Program Website}

Can type 2 diabetes be cured?

At this stage there is no cure for type 2 diabetes. Changing and keeping a healthy lifestyle can help keep blood glucose levels within the normal range, where you may no longer need medicine. Achieving this is great and has many health benefits. However, this is known as remission, not a cure. The reason for this is, if you no longer keep a healthy lifestyle and start to put on weight again, your blood glucose levels will once again rise. This is why keeping a healthy lifestyle is so important.