What is Pre Diabetes?
Prediabetes means that your blood sugars are higher than usual, but not high enough for you to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It also means that you are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You are unlikely to be experiencing any symptoms with prediabetes.
Diagnosing Pre Diabetes
We know that for some people hearing prediabetes can feel as though a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is inevitable, but many people can reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes and it may be possible to prevent or delay the condition developing.
If you’re worried about prediabetes you could call your GP surgery and ask for a blood test. The most common test will be checking your HbA1c levels which is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months. If your HbA1c level is between 42mmol/mol (6%) – 47mmol/mol (6.4%) this means it is higher than normal and you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
What is the cause of Pre Diabetes?
At the moment, more than 3.2 million people are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the UK based on blood sugar levels. It is estimated that 1.2 million people are currently living with type 2 diabetes but are yet to be diagnosed.
If you’ve been told you have prediabetes, this is a warning sign that you are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is you don’t have it yet, and with the right support up to 50% of cases of type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed.
Risk Factors:
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You’re more at risk if you’re white and over 40 or over 25 if you’re African-Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian.
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You’re two to six times more likely to get type 2 diabetes if you have a parent, brother, sister or child with diabetes.
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Type 2 diabetes is two to four times more likely in people of South Asian descent and African-Caribbean or Black African descent.
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You’re more at risk if you’ve ever had high blood pressure.
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You’re more at risk of type 2 diabetes if you’re living with overweight or obesity.
Other factors in your environment, like poverty or deprivation and inequality, may also increase your risk.
You are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes if some or all of the risk factors apply to you. To check your risk use the Know Your Risk online tool it only takes a couple of minutes to complete. If your results show that you are at high or very high risk, you will need to ask your GP for a blood test.
Preventing type 2 diabetes
Research has consistently shown that for some people combined lifestyle interventions - including diet, physical activity and sustained weight loss - can be effective in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 50%.
Manage your weight
If you are living with overweight or obesity and are at high risk of type 2 diabetes even small amounts of weight loss are really beneficial. Losing 5% of your body weight can significantly reduce your risk. There are lots of ways you can lose weight and it’s about getting the right support to find what works best for you.
If you need help with managing your weight a dietitian can help you. Your GP surgery can also help you find weight management services in your local area.
Eat a healthy and balanced diet
There’s no one special diet for all people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Everyone is individual, so there isn’t a one size fits all way of eating for everyone. But, the food and drink we have in our overall diet is linked to our risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
All of these ways of eating have been linked with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes:
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Mediterranean diet
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Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet
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Vegetarian and vegan diets
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The Nordic diet
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Moderately cutting down on carbohydrates.
Be more active
A sedentary lifestyle is when we spend a lot of time being inactive and not moving our bodies. Being sedentary is linked with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
So being active in your daily life can help to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. This doesn’t mean you need to take up a new sport or join the gym. You could make small changes so that you are being more active every day. Think about taking phone calls standing up, using stairs instead of the lift, doing some chair based exercises or going for a walk on your lunch break.