Prediabetes means you have higher than normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Having prediabetes increases your risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes by 50% in the next 5–10-year span.

There are no noticeable symptoms of prediabetes which is why it is important to know your numbers every year with a biometric health screening. This can help evaluate your risk and early detection. Your Hemoglobin A1C is one of the commonly used blood tests to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. The A1C test measures the percentage of your red blood cells that have sugar-coated hemoglobin over the past three months. Everyone has some sugar attached to their hemoglobin, but people with higher blood sugar have more. Hemoglobin is a protein in your red blood cells and when sugar enters your bloodstream, it attaches to it. Normal HgA1c levels fall below 5.7%, and prediabetes is 5.7% to 6.4%, leaving 6.5% or above as an indicator of diabetes.

There can be many factors that contribute to prediabetes. Having family history and genetics play a powerful role. Other factors that could contribute that you may want to consider are, but not limited to:

• Being overweight: Is a primary risk factor for prediabetes. The more fatty tissue you have, especially inside and between the muscle and skin around your abdomen, the more resistant your cells become to insulin (mayoclinic.org). A person’s BMI is not an indicator of metabolic health. Using the measurement of your waist size can be a better indicator for insulin resistance—waist size larger than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women.
• Inactivity: Not engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily will increase your risk factors. Studies show strong evidence that a dose (a combination of intensity, duration, and frequency) response relationship exist between insulin sensitivity and exercise (NHANES 2003-2006. PeerJ. 2014;2:e499).
• Smoking: Nicotine and cigarette smoking induce high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Having high levels of cortisol is known to induce insulin resistance (The Endocrine Society).
• Sleep apnea: With sleep apnea, your breathing pauses while you sleep; there is an increase in carbon dioxide in your blood. This leads to insulin resistance so that the body doesn’t use insulin effectively.
• Race: It is unclear why, but certain ethnicism have a higher risk factor for prediabetes including African American, Hispanic, American Indian and Asian American people.

If you have prediabetes or notice the trend of your HgA1c raising, losing 5% to 7% of your body weight has been shown to lower your risk. Working with a trained health coach can also help you make realistic, lasting lifestyle changes. Click here to take a 60-second diabetes risk test. 

To learn more about prediabetes, join Health Coach and Diabetes Care and Education Specialist Jessica for an education program “Reversing Prediabetes” on Monday, August 15 at 12:30 p.m. Click here to register.

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