Prediabetes vs. diabetes

If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes, you may wonder what that means. It’s a condition where your blood glucose levels are above normal, but not high enough for you to be diagnosed with diabetes. Many doctors consider prediabetes to be the first stage of type 2 diabetes.

As of 2015,84.1 million American adultshave been diagnosed withprediabetes. That’s more than one in three adults in the United States.

Studies show that 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will developdiabetesin as little as five years without intervention, such as weight loss or increased physical activity. In fact, most people who gettype 2 diabeteshad prediabetes first.

Prediabetes is serious in and of itself. People with prediabetes and diabetes have a greater risk of developingcardiovascular diseasethan those without it.

There are fourteststhat doctors can perform to determine whether you havehigh blood sugar.

TheA1C testis a blood test that measures the percentage of sugar that’s attached to your hemoglobin, a protein in yourred blood cells (RBCs). The higher the A1C, the higher your average blood sugar levels have been running over the past two or three months.

The A1C test is also known by these names:

  • hemoglobin A1c test
  • HbA1c test
  • glycosylated hemoglobin test

Anormal A1Cis below 5.7 percent, which corresponds to anestimated average blood sugar levelthat’s lower than 117 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

An A1C between 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent suggests prediabetes. An A1C of 6.5 or more indicates type 2 diabetes if the test is confirmed.

According to theAmerican Diabetes Association, up to 25 percent of people with an A1C of 5.5 to 6 percent will develop diabetes in 5 years; for those with an A1C of 6 to 6.4 percent, the estimate jumps to 50 percent.

If your results are questionable, your doctor will retest your A1C on another day to confirm the diagnosis.

Type of results A1C Estimated average blood glucose level (mg/dL)
normal A1C results below 5.7% below 117
prediabetes A1C results 5.7 to 6.4% 117 to 137
diabetes A1C results above 6.4% above 137

The fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test is a blood test that’s performed after you’ve beenfastingovernight. It measures the sugar in your blood.

A normal fasting glucose test result is lower than 100 mg/dL. A result between 100 and 125 mg/dL is diagnostic for prediabetes. One that is 126 mg/dL or above is indicative of diabetes.

If your result is 126 mg/dL or above, you’ll be retested on another day to confirm the diagnosis.

Type of results Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level (mg/dL)
normal FPG results below 100
prediabetes FPG results 100 to 125
diabetes FPG results above 125

Arandom blood glucose (RPG) testis a blood test that’s performed any time of day that you aren’t fasting. It measures the sugar level in your blood at that moment in time.

An RPG result that’s over 200 mg/dL is indicative of diabetes, especially if you’re havingsymptoms of diabetessuch as excessivethirst,hunger, orurination.

If your level is higher, your doctor will use one of the other tests listed to confirm the diagnosis.

Theoral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)takes a little more time than the other two glucose tests for diabetes. In this test, your blood is taken after an overnight fast, and then again two hours after you drink a sugary drink.

It’s normal for blood sugar to rise after the drink. Normal blood sugar falls to below 140 mg/dL within two hours, however.

If your blood sugar is between 140 and 199 mg/dL, your doctor will diagnose prediabetes. Anything 200 mg/dL or above is diagnostic for type 2 diabetes.

Type of results Blood glucose level (mg/dL)
normal OGTT results below 140
prediabetes OGTT results 140 to 199
diabetes OGTT results above 199

If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes, there are steps you can take to help reduce your risk for developing diabetes and return your blood glucose to a normal range.

Eat a healthy diet

Maintaining ahealthy, balanced dietcan help reduce your risk for diabetes. Changing your diet can be challenging, so start by making small changes. Track everything you’re eating for a few days so you can understand what food groups you may be over- or undereating.

You should be eating foods every day from each of the five food groups:

You should havehealthy fatseach day as well.

Using the information from your food log, you can begin to make small changes. The goal is to chooseless processed, whole foods, instead ofhighly processed foodsthat containadded sugar, littlefiber, andunhealthy fats.

For example, if you aren’t eating the recommended servings of vegetables, try adding one serving of vegetables a day to your diet.

You can do this by having a salad with lunch or dinner, or snacking oncarrot sticks. Just be careful about add-ons such as salad dressing or dips. They can sneak in unhealthy fats or extra calories.Check out these 10 healthy salad dressing recipes.

You’ll also want to work on reducing the number ofempty-calorie foods and beveragesyou’re consuming, as well as switching outsimple carbohydrate foodsfor complex carbohydrates. Examples of substitutions you can try to include:

Get active

Exerciseis also important for managing your blood glucose. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.

As with dietary changes, you should also start slow and work your way up.

If you aren’t very active, you can start by parking farther away from a building’s entrance or taking a flight of stairs instead of an escalator or elevator. Taking a walk around the block with your family or a neighbor after dinner is another great way to add in some exercise.

Once you get more comfortable withincreasing your activity level, you can start doing more vigorous activities, such as jogging or attending a workout class.

Remember to always get your doctor’s approval before beginning a new workout routine. They can let you know if there are activities you should avoid or things you should monitor, such as yourheart rate.

Maintain a healthy weight

Eating a balanced diet and exercising can help youloseor maintain weight. Ask your doctor what ahealthy weightis for you.

Work with them to determine how many calories you should beeating. If you need to lose weight, ask them how much weight you should be losing per week to stay healthy.

Crash dietsand extreme workout plans may make for entertaining television, but they aren’t realistic for long-term maintenance. They’re often unhealthy as well.

Prediabetesoften leads to diabetes, and most of the time there are no noticeable symptoms. That’s why it’s important to have your blood glucose levels tested, especially if you’re older than the age 45 or have afamily history of diabetes.

如果你超重,测试在45岁之前是矩形ommended if one of these otherrisk factorsis present:

If you do have prediabetes, you can reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes byexercising about 30 minutes each dayand losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight. Your doctor may also start you on a medication to help control your blood sugar.

Prediabetes doesn’t have to progress to type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle changes can help you get and keep your blood sugar levels within their normal range.