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Living with Diabetes 101 is written by registered nurses and diabetes educators.

Diabetes — A Snapshot

September 22, 2016
 

Ready for a shocking truth? One in four people don’t know they have diabetes and nine out of 10 people don’t know they have prediabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 29.1 million people living in the United States have diabetes! That’s one in 11 people!

To put this in a different perspective, let’s say there are 29.1 million cars in the United States that aren’t using gasoline correctly and this affects the engine. If left unchecked, it will damage the car. Then let’s say that one in four drivers don’t even know that there is anything wrong with their car. There are no funny sounds and things seem to be running smoothly — that is, until something happens to the car. 

If all drivers knew there was a simple test they could take that would let them know their car is at risk, then it makes sense to take the test, right?

But, there is a simple “test” you can take. It’s a questionnaire that lets you know if you are at risk for diabetes. Are you ready to take the risk? Take this a Type II risk questionnaire that can be found at http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

If you score five or higher on this test, then believe it! You are at risk. This is not a character flaw or something to be ashamed of or disregarded as “not me!”  This is a chance to prevent diabetes from happening or managing it if you already have diabetes. It’s a chance to keep your “vehicle” running at its best for many miles to come!

To learn more about preventing diabetes go to: www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention or www.cdc.gov/diabetes/ndep or speak to your doctor.

Tags: DaCruz, diabetes

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