Pre-diabetes: Are you at risk?

Are you at risk?

The United Nations has declared 14 November, 2007 World Diabetes Day. “Yeah, that's great, but I don't have diabetes so I don't need to pay attention to all the talk about it”, we hear you say. Well maybe, maybe not.

Diabetes Australia estimates that 2 million Australians have pre-diabetes. Left untreated, pre-diabetes can develop into Type 2 diabetes, which can have serious health consequences. Most people with pre-diabetes aren't even aware they have it. Are you one of them? Read this article to find out.

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What is pre-diabetes?

Pre-diabetes means your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for you to be classified as diabetic. A diagnosis of pre-diabetes is a warning sign that should be heeded, as it means you are likely to develop Type 2 diabetes in the future, unless you take preventative action now.

The condition occurs when your insulin (the hormone that helps convert sugars from food into energy) is not working properly and can't move the glucose from the blood into the cells where it needs to be. This is known as insulin resistance.

Do you have pre-diabetes?

Being overweight increases your risk of pre-diabetes

How do you know if you have pre-diabetes? You can take a blood test, but the first thing to do is to check for risk factors. Take a look at the list below and see how many risk factors are true for you:

Do you have a family history of diabetes?
Are you overweight?
Do you have a low level of physical activity?
Do you have a high triglyceride level and low HDL cholesterol level and/or high total cholesterol?
Do you have high blood pressure?
Do you have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and are overweight?
Have you had gestational diabetes (diabetes in pregnancy) or given birth to a baby weighing more than 4.5 kg ?
What is your ethnic background? Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, Pacific Islanders, Asians and Indians are at higher risk of developing diabetes.

If you answered "yes" to two or more of these questions, you are at risk for pre-diabetes.