November is National Diabetes month, a great time to bring attention to diabetes. This year's focus is on taking action to prevent diabetes health problems. More than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. have prediabetes but most of them don't know they have it. Groups at higher risk for prediabetes include American Indians, Hispanics, and African Americans.
What is prediabetes?
Prediabetes is when blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diabetes. Many people with prediabetes will have type 2 diabetes within 10 years.
Prediabetes comes with many health risks, raising the risk for heart disease and stroke. Things that raise your risk for prediabetes include:
- Excess weight
- Being 45 or older
- History of gestational diabetes
- Family history of diabetes
- Not being physically active
- Taking certain medicines
The good news- you may be able to delay or even prevent type 2 diabetes with some lifestyle changes:
- Lose excess weight. Losing 5% to 7% of your weight can help if you are overweight.
- Get more exercise. Aim for 150 minutes or more a week of medium to high intensity aerobic activity. Don't let more than 2 days go by without being active.
San Juan Regional Medical Center offers free diabetes education services and classes to help you stay healthy. Making small changes now can have a big impact on your quality of life. We invite you to learn more about the programs we offer on our website: https://www.sanjuanregional.com/diabetes.