Are You at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? Find out.

November is American Diabetes Month®.

8 million Americans don’t know they have diabetes. 77 million Americans don’t know they have prediabetes. Find out if you’re at risk for type 2 diabetes.

Both diabetes and prediabetes are manageable. And I can help. In observance of this important month, I’m offering you a chance to win a free copy of my book Diabetes Weight Loss – Week by Week and another chance to win my third book 21 Things You Need to Know about Diabetes and Your Heart. To enter, please leave a comment below. Tell me one thing that you will do this month to improve your health. I’ll randomly choose two people at the end of the month. Thank you for participating. This giveaway is closed and the winners have been notified.

Now is a perfect time to raise awareness about diabetes prevention and control. Nearly 30 million Americans have diabetes, but unfortunately more than 8 million of them have not yet been diagnosed. Could you be one of them?

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:

• Having prediabetes or insulin resistance
• Being age 45 years or older
• Having a family history of diabetes
• Being overweight
• Not exercising regularly
• Having high blood pressure
• Having abnormal cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels
• Previously having had gestational diabetes or given birth to a baby weighing 9 pounds or more
• Being a member of any of these groups: Non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanic/Latino Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians and Alaska Native

Please take the risk test. If you are at risk for type 2 diabetes, please see your healthcare provider for screening. And commit to making at least one positive change this week to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes or to better manage existing diabetes.

Another 86 million Americans have Prediabetes

Most of them – about 77 million – have no idea they have this condition. These numbers are large, and that alone is very concerning. What’s worse is that every time I look up these statistics, they are greater than the previous time. As a nation, we are clearly going in the wrong direction.

Learn More

I’ll have several more posts about diabetes, prediabetes and diabetes prevention this month, so check back often. In the meantime, learn more from the following reliable websites.

• American Diabetes Association
• National Diabetes Education Program
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Additionally, I’ve blogged about healthy diabetes and heart-friendly foods and important diabetes-related numbers to know. Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win one of my books.