I Have Type 2 Diabetes. Do You?

When you hear about type 2 diabetes in the media or read about it in blogs like this one from Sharecare expert Geri Spollett, the huge numbers of Americans at risk for the disease jump out at you.

But what really matters aren’t the big numbers. What matters is more personal. What matters is your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

I knew I was at risk before I was diagnosed. As a child I heard stories about my grandfather, who died from complications of diabetes before I was born. As a teen, I sat in my grandmother’s kitchen, watching her inject insulin when her blood glucose was high and ingest hard candy when it wasn’t. My older brother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 25, roughly the same age as our grandfather. Family history is a huge risk factor for type 2 diabetes—and diabetes was all over my family tree.

But it’s not the only risk factor that matters. Others include:

• Having pre-diabetes
• Being over age 45
• Being overweight
• Being physically inactive
• Having a parent, brother or sister with diabetes
• Having a family background that is African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino or Pacific Islander
• Having gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby heavier than 9 pounds

Having low HDL cholesterol (the good kind), high triglycerides or high blood pressure also ratchets up your risk.

I already have diabetes, and I should have seen it coming sooner than I did. You can take one minute now to see if you’re at risk with this assessment from the American Diabetes Association.

And here’s the good news: If you know you’re at risk, you may be able to prevent the disease. Lifestyle tweaks like eating healthier, losing weight and becoming more active can be game changers when it comes to stopping diabetes. But you can’t change the game if you don’t know you’re in it.

For more information on Diabetes, including Diabetes-friendly recipes and answers to your top questions, visit our Diabetes Alert Center.

What steps have you taken, if any, to keep diabetes at bay? Tell us in the comments box below.

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