With obesity levels being at an all time high, the epidemic of type 2 diabetes is growing at an alarming rate, and will only get worse. Between 2001 and 2002, the diagnosis of diabetes went from 5.5 percent of Americans to an alarming 6.5 percent in just one year! Overall, twelve million Americans have been diagnosed and another 5 million Americans have diabetes and don't know it. And yet another 12 million people are on their way to type 2 diabetes because of impaired glucose levels. To put that into perspective, according to Paige Beal, registered dietician and diabetes educator at BroMenn Medical Center “By the year 2050 the increase in diabetes will be estimated to be 1 out of every 3 adults.” Not knowing is the worst because risks of untreated diabetes puts us at a terrible risk of complications including but not limited to blindness, amputations and ultimately death. The stickler is, that type 2 diabetes is almost completely preventable.
Take this test to see if you are at risk for having diabetes. Diabetes is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. If you are a member of one of these ethnic groups, you need to pay special attention to this test. Write in the points next to each statement that is true for you. If a statement is not true, put a zero. Then add your total score.
1. I am a woman who has had a baby weighing more than nine pounds at birth.
Yes 1 ______
2. I have a sister or brother with diabetes.
Yes 1 ______
3. I have a parent with diabetes.
Yes 1 ______
4. My BMI is over 30. (CHECK YOUR BMI HERE)
Yes 5 ______
5. I am under 65 years of age and I get little or no exercise.
Yes 5 ______
6. I am between 45 and 64 years of age.
Yes 5 ______
7. I am 65 years old or older.
Yes 9 ______
TOTAL YOUR SCORE
Scoring 10 or more points: You are at high risk for having diabetes. To determine if you have diabetes, Healthy Solutions MD can give you a test so that you know for sure.
Scoring 3 to 9 points: You are probably at low risk for having diabetes now. But don't just forget about it. Keep your risk low by losing weight if you are overweight, being active most days and eating low-fat meals that are high in fruits and vegetables and whole grain foods. Diabetes is a serious disease that can lead to blindness, heart disease, strokes, kidney failure and loss of a limb.
Did you know that you can be diagnosed with pre-diabetes before you actually get diabetes. In pre-diabetes you have higher than normal blood sugars but they are not at the level that they would need to be in order to be considered diabetic. If you are obese or severely overweight and pre-diabetic there are steps you can take to put off the actual diagnosis of diabetes or prevent it.
The same test is used for pre-diabetes as it is for diabetes. Once you find out that you
have pre-diabetes you can make a plan with Healthy Solutions MD to prevent the onset of the disease. By losing weight and either adding or increasing your level of physical activity
you can delay diabetes for quite sometime. There have been people who have gone on to
maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise and have remained in the pre-
diabetic phase for their lives.
If you are not able to get down to your goal weight, just losing a small amount can be
beneficial. It takes an additional strain off of your body by lessening the need of the
amount of insulin that is produced. There are many other benefits that you will also get
by reducing your body weight including increased energy and cardiovascular health.
There are not always symptoms present when you have pre diabetes. But if you are
experiencing any of the signs that could signal the full disease such as an increased thirst
and need to urinate, make an appointment with Healthy Solutions MD to get on the road to good health TODAY!