Are you pre-diabetic?

Have you recently gained weight? Does anyone in your family have diabetes? When was the last time you had blood work completed?

Pre-diabetes is “the state that occurs when a person’s blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes”. Most importantly, people with pre-diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension and stroke. An estimated 79 million Americans age 20 years or older have pre-diabetes. Learn more about obesity and associated health risks such as diabetes.

Who should pay attention to pre-diabetes?
You are at risk for pre-diabetes if you are overweight and 45 years or older. Individuals younger than 45 and overweight, and have any other risk factors such as high blood pressure, a family history of diabetes, physical inactivity, polycystic ovarian syndrome, to name a few, are also at risk. Unfortunately, there usually are no signs or symptoms for pre-diabetes!

As mentioned above, having pre-diabetes exposes individuals to a higher risk for type-2 diabetes. However, studies have shown that losing 5 to 7 percent of body weight through diet and increased physical activity can reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. How do you make this happen? Healthy eating habits and exercise!

What can I do?
Someone with excess weight and pre-diabetes, or insulin resistance may benefit from limiting carbohydrates in their diet. Carbs raise blood sugar more than other foods and will cause the body to produce more insulin.

Regular exercise helps maintain weight loss and prevent weight regain. It also improves glycemic control (measurement of the effects of carbs on sugar level) and reduces cardiovascular disease. Fortunately it doesn’t take dramatic weight loss to reduce the risk for pre-diabetes or to improve your health. Moderate weight loss can help delay or prevent diabetes-related complications. If you feel like you need to lose a moderate amount of weight, learn more about our MyWeight solution, as well as some of our noninvasive procedures and ROSE.

Today’s world of technology and social networking may also help you monitor your health. HEALTHSEEKER is a new healthy Facebook game that was developed by the Diabetes Hands Foundation and Joslin Diabetes Center. The goal is to help players make specific lifestyle changes that focus on healthy eating. Check it out!

The Surgical Specialists of LA are a group of 8 board certified advanced laparoscopic surgeons who specialize in surgical and nonsurgical weight loss. For more information about their programs visit www.whyweight.com.

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