You have the power to change things.
Over 115 million Americans have prediabetes and 80% of them don’t know it. For some people with prediabetes, early treatment as well as moderate lifestyle changes can actually return blood glucose (blood sugar) levels to a normal range, effectively preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes.
What it Means and What You Can Do
There are no clear symptoms of prediabetes so you may have it and not know it. But before people develop type 2 diabetes, they almost always have prediabetes—where blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It is possible that you may have some of the symptoms of diabetes or even some of the complications. If you think you may have diabetes or prediabetes, check with your doctor and get tested.
If you discover that you do have prediabetes, remember that it doesn’t mean you’ll develop type 2, particularly if you follow a treatment plan and make changes to your lifestyle through food choices and physical activity. Even small changes can have a huge impact on delaying or preventing diabetes all together. Work with your health care team to make a plan that works for your lifestyle, or look for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recognized lifestyle change program, guided by a lifestyle coach trained to use a CDC-approved curriculum, where you will meet other people who are working to prevent diabetes.
