Diabetes

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as Type 2 diabetes. It indicates an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Studies have shown that by making lifestyle changes – losing weight and increasing physical activity – people can prevent or delay prediabetes from progressing to Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. Most of the food eaten is turned into glucose (sugar) for the body to use for energy. The pancreas, which lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin that helps glucose get into the body’s cells. When you have diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in the blood.

There are three main types of diabetes:

Type 1

This type of diabetes can occur at any age, although it most often appears in childhood or during the teen years. With this form of diabetes, the body no longer makes insulin. Treatment for type 1 diabetes includes taking insulin and possibly another injectable medicine; making wise food choices; being physically active; taking aspirin daily, for some; and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Type 2

Formerly called adult-onset or non-insulin dependent diabetes, this type is the most common form of diabetes and can develop at any age, even in childhood. Type 2 diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, in which fat, muscle, and liver cells do not use insulin properly. At first, the body keeps up with the added demand by producing more insulin, but in time, the body cannot produce enough insulin. Being overweight and inactive increases the chance of developing this form of diabetes. Treatment includes using diabetes medicines; making wise food choices; being physically active; taking aspirin daily, for some; and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol.

Gestational Diabetes

This type of diabetes develops during pregnancy and typically goes away after the baby is born. However, it increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life for both the mother and the child.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms include:

• Increased thirst and urination
• Increased hunger
  
• Weight loss, despite eating more than usual
  
• Fatigue
  
• Blurred vision
  
• Slow-healing sores or frequent infections
  
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet

People with certain risk factors are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. These risk factors include:

• Having prediabetes
• Being over the age of 45
  
• Being overweight, excess body fat, particularly around the abdomen
  
• Having a family history of diabetes
  
• Having an African American, Hispanic/Latino American, American Indian, or Alaska Native racial or ethnic background
  
• Being physically active less than three times a week
  
• Having had gestational (during pregnancy) diabetes or giving birth to a baby who weighed more than nine pounds
  
• Having high blood pressure (hypertension)
  
• Having abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels
  
• Having polycystic ovary syndrome
  

People with diabetes risk factors are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes; however, developing Type 2 diabetes is not inevitable.

Lifestyle modifications can lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by almost 60%. These modifications include:

• Weight loss – if overweight, losing 5% - 7% of your weight.
• Physical activity – getting 150 minutes of physical activity a week. That is just 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
  
• Follow-up – check with your primary physician for control of blood pressure and cholesterol.