⚠ Prediabetes Causes and Risk Factors

You’re more likely to get prediabetes if you:

• 👤 Are older, especially over age 45
• 👕 Have a waist that is greater than 40 inches in circumference for men and 35 inches for women
• 🍓 Consume a lot of red and processed meat, sugary drinks, and little to no fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, or extra virgin olive oil
• 🔥 Have excess weight, especially in your midsection (belly fat), making you overweight or obese
• 📈 Have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and high LDL cholesterol
• 🏋 No physical activity
• 👩‍🎉 Experienced gestational diabetes before or gave birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
• 🌠 Have polycystic ovary syndrome
• 😴 Have a sleep problem, like sleep apnea, or work changing shifts or night shifts

🏋 How to Prevent Prediabetes

Exercising and eating foods low in carbohydrates, sugars, fats, and salt can help prevent prediabetes. Other tips include:

• 🚫 Don’t smoke
• 🍻 Don’t have more than one alcoholic drink a day
• 💊 Take blood sugar medications as your doctor prescribes

🎓 Children and Prediabetes Testing

Doctors diagnose prediabetes based on the same blood sugar levels, no matter the person’s age. According to the American Diabetes Association, children who are 10 or older and are overweight or obese should be checked, including the following:

• 👪 A family member with type 2 diabetes
• 👩‍🎉 A mother who had gestational diabetes while pregnant with the child
• 🔬 Signs of insulin resistance or conditions linked to it, such as low birth weight, high blood pressure, or polycystic ovary syndrome

If a child who has a high chance of getting prediabetes has normal test results, the American Diabetes Association advises testing them again at least every 3 years.