Am I at risk for diabetes?
March 8th, 2008 by
health
Things that can put you at risk for diabetes include:
- Age — being older than 45
- Overweight or obesity
- Family history — having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes
- Race/ethnicity — your family background is African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic American/Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian
- Having a baby with a birth weight more than 9 pounds
- Having diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes)
- High blood pressure — 140/90 mm HG or higher. Both numbers are important. If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure.
- High cholesterol — total cholesterol over 240 mg/dL
- Inactivity — exercising less than 3 times a week
- Abnormal results in a prior diabetes test
- Having other health conditions that are linked to problems using insulin, like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- Having a history of heart disease or stroke