Could You Have Pre-Diabetes?
Author: Shannon Miller
Pre-diabetes is becoming more common in the United States, according to new estimates provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
From 2003 to 2006, 25.9 percent of U.S. adults aged 20 or older had Pre-diabetes, also known as Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG). Applying this percentage to the entire U.S population in 2007 results in an estimate of 57 million American adults with pre-diabetes.
You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if:
- you are overweight
- you are 45 years old or older
- you have a parent, brother, or sister with diabetes
- your family background is African American, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic American/Latino, or Pacific Islander
- you have had gestational diabetes or gave birth to at least one baby weighing more than 9 pounds
- your blood pressure is 140/90 or higher, or you have been told that you have high blood pressure
- your HDL cholesterol is 35 or lower, or your triglyceride level is 250 or higher
- you are fairly inactive, or you exercise fewer than three times a week
- you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- you have blood vessel problems affecting the heart, brain or legs
- you have dark, thick and velvety patches of skin around your neck and armpits (This is called acanthosis nigricans, A-can-THO-sis NI-gri-cans.)
Those with pre-diabetes are likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, unless they take steps to prevent or delay diabetes. The results of the Diabetes Prevention Program showed that modest weight loss and regular exercise can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.