Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. Over thirty-million Americans have diabetes, including 3.7 million North Carolinians with either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. If uncontrolled, it can cause blindness, nerve damage, kidney disease, more severe symptoms and complications from COVID-19, heart disease, and stroke.
Another 84 million adults in the United States are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The good news is that people who are at high risk for type 2 diabetes can lower their risk by more than half if they make healthy changes to their lifestyle, like eating healthy, getting more physical activity, and losing weight.
Know your risk
Take a quick seven-question assessment of you’re risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Talk to your health care provider and take a blood test to find out your actual risk.
Lower your risk (type 2 diabetes)
- Be active—Aim to get 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week.
- Eat healthy—Reduce the amount of sugar and refined carbs in your diet
- Manage your weight—Widdle your middle. Excess weight in the midsection promotes inflammation and insulin resistance, which significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. (A healthy waistline is considered under 35-inches for women, and under 40-inches for men.)
- Live tobacco free—smoking increase the risk of diabetes by 44% in average smokers and 61% in people who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day.
Know the symptoms
1 in 4 people with diabetes don’t realize they have it. Those who do may experience the following:
- Tiredness
- Weight loss (type 1)
- Blurred vision
- Excessive thirst
- Increased hunger
- Frequent urination
- Cuts and wounds take a long time to heal
- Tingling sensation or numbness in hands or feet (type 2)
Available Resources
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Eat Smart, Move More, Prevent Diabetes is a program designed for people diagnosed with prediabetes or at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
November classes start the week of November 16. Register by Friday, Nov. 13 to participate. This program is free for North Carolina residents. Participants pay $30 and receive their $30 back for meeting attendance and tracking requirements. |
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The American Diabetes Association drives discovery by funding research to treat, manage and prevent all types of diabetes, as well as to search for cures; raises voice to the urgency of the diabetes epidemic; and works to safeguard policies and programs that protect people with diabetes. |
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DIABETES SISTERS offers a range of education and support services to help women of all ages with all types of diabetes live healthier, fuller lives.
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myGlu.org is a website that creates a way for people with type 1 diabetes to find each other, learn from each other, and help each other. |