One way to know if you have prediabetes | Health



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Prediabetes is an important sign that you are on the “easy” path to type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar. If left untreated, diabetes often leads to cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney disease, eye damage, Alzheimer’s disease …
Roughly 88 million Americans have prediabetes – that’s more than a third of adults – and 84 percent of them don’t know it, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
One way to know if you have prediabetes - picture 1

Regular exercise is one of the ways to reduce the risk of diabetes

Artwork: Shutterstock

A 2017 survey of primary care providers in the General Journal of Internal Medicine explored their knowledge about prediabetes and found some disturbing facts: Only 6% of primary care physicians, nurses, and physician assistants correctly identified all factors of risk that lead to the detection of prediabetes and only 17% accurately identified the laboratory parameters to diagnose prediabetes of two The most common tests: fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c, according to Eat this, not that!

These findings will persuade you to have more control over your health. Get started here with this prediabetes self-assessment test (adapted from the CDC’s US National Diabetes Prevention Program).

Then ask your doctor to do a fasting blood glucose test or hA1c test at your next visit.

Answer these questions. For each “yes” answer, write the score indicated. The answer “no” gets 0 points.

1. Are you a woman who gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds (approximately 4.5 kg) at birth? (Yes: 1 / No: 0)

2. Do you have a diabetic mother, father or sister? (Yes: 1 / No: 0)

3. Have you ever been diagnosed with high blood pressure? (Yes: 1 / No: 0)

5. Use the BMI Calculator from the American Diabetes Association to calculate your BMI. (Less than 25: 0 / 25-29: 1 / 30-39: 2 / 40+: 3)

6. How old are you? (Below 40: 0 / 40-49: 1 / 50-59: 2 / 60+: 3)

7. Are you physically active? (Yes: 0 / No: 1)

8. Are you a man or a woman? (Men: 1 / Women: 0)

The US CDC says that if you score a total of 5 points or more, you have a higher risk of pre-diabetes. As mentioned above, ask your doctor to test your fasting blood glucose or hA1c at your next visit, according to Eat this, not that!

The sooner you know you have prediabetes, the sooner you will take steps to reverse it and prevent type 2 diabetes. With proper intervention, including healthy eating, physical activity, and additional stress management: you can make long-term lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.

You should consult your doctor before attempting any of these interventions yourself, in accordance with Eat this, not that!




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