Are You At Risk?
Everyone has a part to play in helping to achieve the National Diabetes Goal. So let's get started.
1. Find out if you are at risk for type 2 diabetes?
According to the American Diabetes Association, there are many risk factors for type 2 diabetes.1 They recommend:
- All adults should begin getting tested for diabetes at age 45. If your blood glucose test result is normal, you should get tested again in three years or sooner, as your health care provider may recommend.
- If you are an adult under the age of 45 and you are overweight, you should get tested if one or more of the following apply to you:
- High blood pressure
- High triglycerides
- Low HDL cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)
- History of heart disease
- First-degree relative with diabetes (e.g. sibling or parents)
- Pre-diabetes from a previous test result
- Not physically active
- A member of a high-risk ethnic population (African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander)
- A woman who delivered a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or was diagnosed with gestational diabetes
- A woman with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
2. Visit a Doctor or Other Health Care Provider
If you think you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, talk with a doctor or other health care provider.
The next time you are in a doctor's office or clinic for any reason, ask, "Should I be tested for diabetes?" Tell the health care provider why you think you are at risk, and the provider will decide whether to test you for diabetes. The test at the doctor's office or clinic is called the fasting plasma glucose test.
3. After your test, learn your blood glucose number, and what actions to take
Once you have had this test, you will get a blood glucose number which can tell you whether or not you have diabetes. Or it can tell you that you have a condition called pre-diabetes, meaning you have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Whatever your blood glucose number is, make sure to ask your health care provider to explain what your number means, and what you should do.
If you take these three steps, you may be on your way to better health.
To read detailed information on risk factors for diabetes, questions you should ask a health care provider, or want to understand what your number means, click here.