Listen up: if you’re living in the United States, there’s about a 1 in 3 chance you’ll develop diabetes over the course of your lifetime. But there are many ways you can lower your risk, which is why the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has recognized March 24 as Diabetes ALERT! Day. Today is about raising awareness for not only those living with diabetes, but those who can still make lifestyle changes to avoid developing it.
Diabetes is one of the most common health conditions in the United States – in 2012, over 29 million Americans (almost 10 percent of the U.S. population) had some form of diabetes (learn about types of diabetes here).1 It’s also estimated that in 2010, 86 million citizens aged 20 or older had prediabetes, which if left untreated, is likely to develop into type 2 diabetes in less than 10 years. Check out the infographic below for a quick snapshot of diabetes in the U.S., courtesy of the ADA and CDC.
Today, take the ADA’s type 2 diabetes risk test and share it with your friends, family and colleagues. It only takes a few minutes to answer the multiple-choice questions – you never know what you or someone else might discover from the results. And don’t forget to highlight your participation on social media through the #DiabetesAlert hashtag.
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