SMART Health Today – November 2022

LET’S FIGHT DIABETES TOGETHER!

Did you know that 37 million people in the U.S. (11% of the population) have some form of diabetes? And while 29 million are diagnosed, 8 million people don’t even know they have the disease. Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how your body turns food into energy. There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant), but 90-95% of people with diabetes have Type 2.

In addition, 96 million (38% of U.S. adults) have prediabetes and more than 8 in 10 don’t know they have it. Prediabetes puts you at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke but you can prevent or delay prediabetes from turning into type 2 diabetes with simple, proven lifestyle changes such as exercise and dietary modifications.

Given the prevalence of this disease and the number of people that may not realize they are at risk, National Diabetes Month, recognized each November, is an ideal time to educate yourself about risk factors, symptoms and lifestyle changes you can make to help prevent and manage this disease. Consider taking a 60-second diabetes risk assessment, explore the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention lifestyle change program that can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 58%, or help increase awareness by participating in an event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association.

The more awareness, detection, management and knowledge we have about this disease that affects so many Americans, the more we can take our health into our own hands to fight diabetes together.