03/27/2012
Are You at Risk for Diabetes?
Today is Diabetes Alert Day, which calls attention to diabetes and encourages each of us to find out if we’re at risk.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of diabetes cases. About 80 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight. Your odds of having Type 2 diabetes go up with these risk factors:
Age 45 or older
Close family member has diabetes
From a certain racial or ethnic group. If you're of African American, Latino, Asian American, Pacific Islander or Native American descent, your risk is higher.
Overweight or obese
Physically inactive
Have low HDL cholesterol levels or high triglycerides
Even if you are at risk for Type 2 diabetes, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight can lower your risk for developing the disease.
For more information, visit www.getfittn.com.
Produced by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Tennessee Department of Health.
GetFitTN is a statewide awareness program to address the rising epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and risk factors that lead to diabetes, like obesity. GetFitTN.com provides many resources about physical fitness, nutrition and diabetes, plus a database of events and organizations to help you GetFit!
