When Blood Sugar Creeps Up

Photo of donuts Years before type 2 diabetes develops, blood sugar levels often start climbing above normal. Call it a warning—one that you should quickly heed. The higher your blood sugar levels creep, the greater your risk for heart attack and stroke.

On the road between normal blood sugar and high blood sugar—or diabetes—is a place called pre-diabetes.

What Is Pre-Diabetes?

People with pre-diabetes have blood sugar that is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diabetic. Doctors often call pre-diabetes “impaired glucose tolerance” or “impaired fasting glucose,” depending on which test they use to detect it.

According to a recent study, up to one-third of people with pre-diabetes will develop full-fledged type 2 diabetes within five or six years.

Screening Detects Pre-Diabetes

Doctors can detect pre-diabetes with a blood test. You should consider getting tested if you are age 45 or older—especially if you are overweight. Being heavy raises your risk for this condition.

Doctors also may recommend testing for younger adults who are overweight or have other risk factors for pre-diabetes, including:

Family history of diabetes
Hispanic, Asian-American, or African-American background
High blood pressure.

Pre-Diabetes Prevention

The road to diabetes is not a one-way-only lane. If you have pre-diabetes, your good habits can delay—and even prevent—type 2 diabetes.

Healthy lifestyle changes cut the risk for diabetes by 58 percent in a recent three-year study of 3,200 people with pre-diabetes. If you have pre-diabetes, you may be able to bring your blood sugar back to normal with the following strategies:

Slim down if you are overweight. Losing just 5 to 7 percent of your weight can lower your blood sugar. Aim to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week by cutting your food intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day.
Walk briskly, bike, or perform other moderate exercise for 30 minutes, five days a week. Regular, moderate exercise improves blood sugar control and helps you shed pounds.
Eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet. Choose lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These high-fiber foods can help your body use insulin better.

Reduce Your Risk

About 57 million Americans ages 20 and older have pre-diabetes. Don’t want to join this statistic? See how much you know about lowering your risk by taking a quiz on pre-diabetes.


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