Wondering what your chances are of being prediabetic?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that “approximately 84 million American adults—more than 1 out of 3 . . . “[i] are prediabetic. We don’t love those odds.
Most specialists agree that these are the primary risk factors:
Age 45 and older: Prediabetes can come on at any age, but the older you get the more at risk you are.
Affected family members: If your parents or siblings have type 2 diabetes, that increases your chance of becoming prediabetic.
Weight: Are you chubby, obese, fat? Do you carry that extra weight around the middle? This is one of the biggest risks for prediabetes.
Exercise: Actually, the lack of exercise. If you’re not active at least three times a week, this puts you at risk.
Ethnicity/Race: Although it’s not clear why, if you’re Latinx, African American, Native American, Asian American, or Pacific Islander, you may be at higher risk of developing prediabetes.
PCOS: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. If you have it, it is a risk factor.
Gestational Diabetes: Developing this during pregnancy, or giving birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds, increases your risk of developing prediabetes.
Sleep: If your sleep is interrupted or just not good, this is a risk factor.
Feels sort of random, but there it is.
If any risk factor listed above is ringing your bell, check with your provider about getting tested. Have the conversation.
You can’t solve the problem if you don’t know about it. And there is a solution – you don’t have to end up with type 2 diabetes.
[i] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prediabetes: Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes.html, (March 6, 2019).