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Stay Healthy With Diabetes and Prevent Type 2

Photo: A man testing his blood sugar.America is facing an epidemic of diabetes, a serious disease that damages bodies and shortens lives. In the next four decades, the number of U.S. adults with diabetes is estimated to double or triple, according to CDC scientists. That means anywhere from 20 to 33 percent of adults could have the disease. About 1 in 9 adults have diabetes now.

If you already have diabetes, managing the disease can lower your risk of complications such as kidney failure, heart disease and stroke, blindness, and amputations of legs and feet. Here are some important steps to take to control diabetes:

  • Talk to your health care provider about how to manage your blood glucose (A1c), blood pressure, and cholesterol.
  • Stop smoking and do not use any other tobacco products.
  • Get a flu vaccine. For those with diabetes, type 1 and type 2, it is important to ask for the "shot" version. Talk to your health care provider about a pneumonia (pneumococcal) shot. People with diabetes are more likely to die from pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes. CDC recommends that everybody aged 6 months and older get a flu vaccine, including family members of people with diabetes.
  • Reach or stay at a healthy weight.
  • Make sure you're physically active. Plan for 2 hours and 30 minutes each week of moderate physical activity, such as walking quickly or gardening, or 1 hour and 15 minutes each week of vigorous physical activity, such as jogging or jumping rope. Add muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days each week. Physical activity can help you control your weight, blood glucose, and blood pressure, as well as raise your "good" cholesterol and lower your "bad" cholesterol.

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Obesity is a Major Risk Factor

Being overweight or obese raises your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. To see whether you are at a healthy weight, check your body mass index (BMI) at this CDC calculator. People with a body mass index of 25-29.9 are considered overweight, and people with a BMI of 30 or above are classified as obese.

Other risk factors for type 2 diabetes include the following:

  • Age 45 or older
  • Developed diabetes while pregnant (gestational diabetes)
  • Have a parent, brother or sister with type 2 diabetes
  • Are not physically active
  • Belong to certain racial or ethnic groups. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

Ways You Can Help Prevent Diabetes

Having a condition called prediabetes means you are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes within 3 to 6 years. People with prediabetes have blood glucose (sugar) levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. CDC estimates that 1 in 3 U.S. adults—79 million people—have prediabetes.

Research trials have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in people at high risk for the disease who make lifestyle changes. Weight loss of 5 to 7 percent (about 10 to 14 pounds for a 200-pound person) and increasing physical activity to 150 minutes per week can reduce or delay the development of type 2 diabetes by nearly 60 percent. You can find written and electronic resources to help through the National Diabetes Education Program, sponsored by CDC and the National Institutes of Health, and community-based group classes through the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program.

Photo: A man and woman exercisingYou can learn more about preventing type 2 diabetes and managing existing diabetes during a live Twitter chat at 11 a.m. EST November 8 with Dr. Ann Albright, PhD, RD, director of CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation. To participate, follow CDC on Twitter @CDCgov or #CDCdiabetes. Questions can be submitted in advance at @CDCgov #CDCdiabetes, or on CDC's Facebook page.

CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program

CDC and its inaugural partners in the National Diabetes Prevention Program, UnitedHealth Group and the YMCA of the USA, are working to prevent type 2 diabetes. The National Diabetes Prevention Program is a public-private partnership among community organizations, private insurers, government agencies, employers, and health care organizations, collaborating to build and grow the network that establishes lifestyle intervention programs in communities.

Group classes offered through the program encourage such lifestyle changes as moderate weight loss and physical activity, and teach coping skills to help you maintain those changes. As of November, 2011, group classes are offered at 178 Y locations in the United States.

More Information

CDC works 24/7 saving lives and protecting people from health threats to have a more secure nation. A US federal agency, CDC helps make the healthy choice the easy choice by putting science and prevention into action. CDC works to help people live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

 

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  • Page last reviewed: October 31, 2011
  • Page last updated: October 31, 2011
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