Study plan: A comparison between those who accepted the program and those who did not will be conducted according to the following outcomes: socio-economic: age, sex, cohabitant and education and disease-related: diagnosis, duration of diagnosis, comorbidity (cancer, CHD, COPD). Perspective: The evidence of predictors for participation in health promoting programs is of great value for the future planning of target group differentiated health service initiatives. Many working adults with diabetes face major barriers to effective disease self management. The Hawaii Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment was a randomized controlled trial providing treatment group participants with individual life coaching and a pharmacist counseling while tracking health and employment outcomes. Self-reported diabetes self-efficacy, quality of life, functioning, hours worked, work productivity, and use of government services data were obtained at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Additional health information was obtained from healthcare providers. Generalized linear models for repeated measures are being used to evaluate the effect of the intervention. Surveys and focus groups were used to obtain participant perceptions about the intervention. 190 employed individuals diagnosed with diabetes or with indication of uncontrolled blood sugar were enrolled. Preliminary results show that body mass index and diabetes self-efficacy changes were significantly improved in the treatment group (p<0.05). Treatment group participants reported greater work productivity improvements. Diabetes management improvements were frequently attributed to increased accountability and goal setting with a life coach, as well as nutrition and diabetes education provided by pharmacists. This presentation will discuss how participant engagement, perceptions, and intervention components may have influenced employment and health indicators. A diabetes management intervention was well received by participants and showed the potential to delay functional decline and reliance on government assistance programs. Findings have implications for employers, health care providers, and professionals using early intervention models intended to prevent disability and support the ongoing employment of individuals with chronic conditions. The use of Life Coaching and Pharmacists as counselors is an emerging service delivery approach. Further RCT research is warranted to determine the viability of this model for chronic disease management. Cost effective analysis would also be valuable. Depression is a serious problem affecting 25% of persons with diabetes, and the risk of depression is doubled in women compared to men with diabetes. Other moods (e.g., anxiety, anger) often accompany depression and negatively impact diabetes outcomes. We tested the feasibility of the Study of Women's Emotions and Evaluation of a Psychoeducational (SWEEP) program to assess the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating depression and dysphoric symptoms in women with type 2 diabetes. Seventy four women with diabetes and co-morbid depression were randomized to the SWEEP program (n=34) or usual care (n=36). The treatment included 8 weekly sessions targeted at depression, anxiety, and anger. Sixty women (81%) completed baseline, 3 and 6 month measurements. Findings indicated a greater decrease in depression (CES-D) for the treatment (T1=26.8, T2=15.2, T3=12.6) as compared to the control group (T1=28.9, T2=23.3, T3=21.5), p=.03. Similarly, there was a greater decrease in trait anxiety (STAI) (T1=49.9, T2=41.2, T3=36.8) for the treatment group as compared to the control group (T1=50.5, T2=46.6, T3=45.3), p=.01. For anger (STAXI), although there were no significant differences between the treatment (T1=20.0, T2=17.3, T3=15.4) and the control conditions at any point (T1=18.0, T2=16.2, T3=16.0), there was a significant decrease in anger scores overall, p<.001. There was a clinically significant decrease in HBA1C in the treatment group from baseline to 3 months (T1=7.6, T2=7.2) however, it was not statistically significant and the improvement was not sustained (T3=7.4). There were minimal changes in HBA1c in the control group (T1=7.9, T2=7.9, T3=7.8). Overall, the SWEEP program significantly improved depression and anxiety outcomes in depressed women with type 2 diabetes. There were also favorable effects on anger and HBA1C. These data provide the first demonstration that depression, a common co-morbidity in women with type 2 diabetes, can be effectively treated in a group setting using CBT techniques. Introduction: More than 60% of male construction workers in the Netherlands are overweight or obese and more than a quarter is at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing-based lifestyle intervention in this population. Methods: 816 Male construction workers with an elevated CVD risk were individually randomized into the intervention or control group. The 6-month intervention consisted of three face-to-face and four telephone contacts with an occupational health professional, in which behavior change was discussed in the style of motivational interviewing. Participants chose to aim at either energy balance or smoking behavior. The control group received usual care. At 6 and 12 months, dietary intake, physical activity, and smoking behavior were assessed by means of a questionnaire. Moreover, body weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, and HbA1c were measured according to a standardized protocol. In order to determine the intervention effects, linear and logistic regression analyses were performed in the total study population as well as in the energy balance and the smoking subgroups. Results: The intervention had a statistically significant beneficial effect on fruit intake (pieces per week: β=1.7, 95%CI 0.6; 2.9) and smoking at 6 months (OR=0.3, 95%CI 0.1; 0.7), and snack intake (pieces per week) at 6 (β=−1.9, 95%CI -3.7; -0.02) and 12 months (β -1.9, 95%CI -3.6; -0.03). No intervention effect was found for physical activity. In the energy balance subgroup, a significant intervention effect was found for body weight at 6 months (β=−2.1, 95%CI -2.9; -1.3), which was sustained until 12 months (β=−2.2, 95%CI -3. Although weight loss programs tend to produce clinically meaningful though modest weight loss, most individuals steadily regain their weight. The current study compared the efficacy of a standard behavioral weight loss maintenance intervention (SBWLM) to a novel 12-week mindfulness-based intervention plus coaching tailored to WLM (Enhancing Mindfulness for the Prevention Of WEight Regain: EMPOWER). Community members who had lost a minimum of 9% of their body weight in the previous three years were recruited and randomized. Both groups received identical information about nutrition, physical activity, the importance of stress management, and values and goal setting. The EMPOWER group, however, was presented the information in the context of learning mindfulness skills to facilitate change. EMPOWER participants were also taught meditation, mindful eating, and mindfulness strategies to reduce stress-related reactivity while SBWLM participants spent equivalent time reading and discussing relevant material. Both groups were carefully structured to ensure parity in numerous factors (e.g., time invested, peer and interventionist support, positive expectancy). Mixed models determined that incremental weight regain rates did not differ by group. On average, both groups maintained their baseline weight loss 16 months later, one year post intervention (EMPOWER: ↓ 1.5 kg; SBWM: ↑ 0.9 kg). Weight regain rates were equivalent to or lower than those reported in other large scale studies (e.g., Svetkey et al., 2008 , Dansinger et al., 2007 . Only the EMPOWER group reported increases in intuitive eating (p<.0001), a trait previously associated with better physical health (Hawks, et al., 2005) and lower eating pathology (Tylka & Wilcox, 2006) . Further analyses will determine whether metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers were impacted differentially by group. These data support the use of the EMPOWER program as a novel and effective approach for supporting individuals in the maintenance of weight loss. The metabolic syndrome disorders (MSD) including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are known to be triggered by lifestyle change. We state and support a hypothesis here that changes in behavior rather than changes in diet and metabolism are central to MSD. We provide and discuss evidence in support of the following sequence of arguments. (i) Diet, thriftiness and obesity centered paradigm is inadequate to explain most of the physiological and immunological changes associated with metabolic syndrome disorders (MSD). (ii) Comparative studies show that relative obesity rather than absolute obesity is strongly associated with various parameters of MSD and further perception of calories without actual change in intake of calories can induce physiological changes. (iii) Alternative behavioral strategies co-exist in animal populations which are associated with characteristic metabolic states and some of these states show close resemblance with MSD in humans. (iv) Obesity and MSD are strongly and cross culturally associated with certain behavioral traits. (v) Deficiencies of certain behaviors that evolved with hunter gatherer life as adaptive behaviors but that are deficient in modern life lead to corresponding dysfunctions of neuro-endocrine mechanisms. Through a meta-analysis study we show that deficiency of physical aggression is strongly associated with MSD as seen by neuro-endocrine mechanisms as well as epidemiological data. This raises a possibility that the effects of behavioral deficiencies may be reversed by behavioral supplementation. (vi) On a pilot scale, behavioral interventions substantially ameliorated many components of MSD without significantly changing body weights. All the evidence collec-tively indicates that MSD originates due to behavioral deficiencies rather than metabolic thriftiness and therefore behavioral supplementation may be effective in reversing the chronic conditions. 1 Lifestyle and Participation, National Institute for Health and Welfare THL, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland; 2 Department of Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland and 3 Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.