American Diabetes Association Diabetes Alert Day is on March 23, 2021! Observed annually on the fourth Tuesday in March, Diabetes Alert Day is a one-day “wake-up call” that focuses on the seriousness of diabetes and the importance of understanding your risk. Could you have diabetes and not know it? One in four Americans with diabetes has it and doesn’t know it. We encourage you to find out if you – or someone you love – is at risk for type 2 diabetes by taking this quick and simple Prediabetes Risk Test.
Did You Know?
- Diabetes affects about 34.2 million Americans or about 10.5 percent of the U.S. population.
- Nearly 1 in 5 adults living with diabetes, or 7.3 million Americans, are unaware that they have the disease.
- Approximately 88 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
- More than 84 percent of people living with prediabetes don’t know they have it.
- About 50 percent of women with gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that women develop when they are pregnant.
Understand Your Risk
The sooner you know you have prediabetes, the sooner you can take action to reverse it and prevent type 2 diabetes. If you have a family history of diabetes, you have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. You are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are over age 45, are overweight, or are not physically active.
How To Reverse Prediabetes
The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program helps people with prediabetes make lasting lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Working with a trained coach, you’ll learn to eat healthy, add physical activity into your life, and manage stress. With other participants, you’ll celebrate successes and work to overcome challenges.
If you have prediabetes, now is your time to take action! Sign up or learn more about the free National Diabetes Prevention Program. A local program starts April 24, 2021.
- Take the CDC’s Prediabetes Risk Test online.
- Download the CDC’s Prediabetes Risk Test
- Learn more about the risk factors of type 2 diabetes.
Source: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Health Information Center and CDC.gov