INDIANAPOLIS — With one in three Hoosiers at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is encouraging residents to take a prediabetes risk assessment as part of the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Alert Day which was Tuesday.
People with prediabetes have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. An estimated 86 million adults nationwide have prediabetes, including a third of Indiana adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 90 percent of these individuals don’t know their status.
“Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in Indiana, but many cases and deaths are preventable,” Indiana State Health Commissioner Jerome Adams, M.D., M.P.H. said “If we can diagnose prediabetes before it progresses, we can put people back on a path to health and save lives.”
People who are overweight or obese, have a family history of diabetes or are physically inactive, as well as individuals with certain racial and ethnic backgrounds, are at a greater risk. The risk increases with age.
Individuals with prediabetes can lower their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by:
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Eating a healthy diet
• Becoming more physically active
• Seeing a physician and checking blood glucose levels regularly
• Joining a Diabetes Prevention Program
Hoosiers can take a free online diabetes risk assessment or find a Diabetes Prevention Program by visiting www.preventdiabetes.isdh.in.gov.
Visit the Indiana State Department of Health at www.StateHealth.in.gov for important health and safety information, or follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/isdh1.
