Assess Your Diabetes Risk to Improve Health

If you think you’re not at risk for type 2 diabetes, you’re in good company.

Unfortunately, many people at risk for this chronic disease have no idea that they should be making lifestyle and behavior changes to improve their health.

In fact, four in 10 people who are at risk for type 2 diabetes mistakenly believe they are perfectly healthy, according to a news release from the American Diabetes Association. The statistics come from a survey of 601 health care providers and 1,426 people who were more than 40 years old.

The good news is that once people understand their risk for type 2 diabetes, they can do something about it.

Simple changes can make a big difference. Changing the way they eat and getting enough exercise are two effective ways to minimize their risk. By choosing nutritious foods and controlling portion sizes, many people are able to lose weight, lower unhealthy cholesterol levels, lower their blood pressure and reduce blood glucose levels.

Another healthy step is to quit smoking, according to the ADA.

In an effort to educate and empower people to take action for their health, the American Diabetes Association has implemented CheckUp America, a national prevention initiative aimed at helping Americans learn how to lower their risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. CheckUp America works to help people manage these factors and thereby reduce disease risk through public and physician education campaigns, in addition to online, interactive resources, the news release states.

Part of the challenge, according to health care providers, is getting patients to take their risk seriously. Too many of them “are in denial,” the providers reported in the survey. Another challenge is that while patients may know that diet and exercise lowers their diabetes risk, many of them are still overweight or obese.

“Nearly 80 percent of at-risk patients think they are in “excellent” or “good health,” even though they don’t regularly implement good health habits and don’t believe they are at risk, or have control over lowering their cardiometabolic risk,” the news release states.

Cardiometabolic risk is a group of factors that indicate a patient’s overall risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

While some risk factors cannot be controlled, such as age, gender and family history, other factors – weight, cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, smoking, diet and exercise habits – can be changed by making healthier choices.

Source: American Diabetes Association

+ Reach your weight loss and fitness goals through the exercise and diet program at Bon Secours In Motion.

+ Are you at risk for type 2 diabetes? Learn how to manage this potentially debilitating disease through our individual and group counseling sessions.