Smart Health

(ARA) - Are you 45 years of age or older? Have you ever had high blood pressure? Did you have gestational diabetes while pregnant? Does anyone in your family have diabetes? If so, you may be at risk for one of the nation's deadly diseases - diabetes.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010, is American Diabetes Association Alert Day. On Diabetes Alert Day, the Association is asking the public "What will you do to stop diabetes?" and encouraging them to join the Stop Diabetes movement by taking the Diabetes Risk Test. The Diabetes Risk Test requires users to answer simple questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors for type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Risk Test will show users whether they are at low, moderate, or high risk for pre-diabetes or diabetes.

There are approximately 24 million Americans living with diabetes, and nearly 6 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, but don't even know it. Another 57 million, or one in five, Americans have pre-diabetes, placing them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If current trends continue, one out of three children born today will face a future with diabetes.

Unfortunately, people with type 2 diabetes can live for years without realizing that they have the disease. While people with diabetes can exhibit noticeable symptoms, such as frequent urination, blurred vision and excessive thirst, most people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes do not show these overt warning signs at the time that they develop the disease. Often, type 2 diabetes only becomes evident when people develop one or more of its serious complications, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage or nerve damage that can lead to amputations.

Studies have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by losing just 5 to 7 percent of body weight through regular physical activity (30 minutes a day, five days a week) and healthy eating. Armed with this information, gather your friends, family, loved ones and/or co-workers and take a 30-minute walk and get started with a healthier lifestyle today.

Join the Stop Diabetes movement by taking the Diabetes Risk Test and find out if you are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes by visiting stopdiabetes.com/takethetest or call (800) DIABETES.

Courtesy of ARAcontent
 

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