To Your Health
December, 2023 (Vol. 17, Issue 12) |
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Lifestyle Changes for Prediabetes
By Editorial Staff
If you're diagnosed with prediabetes, you're on the road to diabetes, which raises your risk of myriad health issues including heart disease, kidney disease, nerve damage and even mental health.
The key, therefore, is to avoid even getting to the prediabetic stage – and dealing with it swiftly if you're prediabetic. In both changes, your lifestyle is key.
What do we mean by lifestyle? Important lifestyle behaviors that can impact your risk of developing prediabetes/ diabetes include weight, eating habits and physical activity habits. For example, researchers have found that prediabetics who received nine months of individualized support for weight management, healthier eating and physical activity lowered their blood glucose levels by 15 mg/dL.
The amount of glucose in your bloodstream (that isn't removed naturally in a timely manner after eating) determines your diabetes risk. For prediabetics, it's a blood glucose level of 100-125 mg/dL. This study involved 2 million participants, which gives strength to the results – particularly since previous research also connects the dots between eating habits, exercise and prediabetes / diabetes. Findings appear in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Are you prediabetic? Diabetic? Do you even know? Ask your doctor to do a risk assessment on your next visit. It's the first step to making any necessary changes to improve your health.
