April 25, 2003
Research: Causes and Prevention
Question from Durham, North Carolina, USA:
My brother was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 40, and my grandmother also had it so I have been concerned about my risk (I’m ten years younger and have similar eating/exercise habits). I bought an inexpensive glucose meter, and my fasting levels have been normal so I presume that I don’t have diabetes yet. (Whew!) If I lose weight and exercise more in a prevention effort, would those levels likely go even lower? Is there any way for me to know or prove that I am doing enough, and am improving? If I do badly, will it slowly go up or will it shoot up if I get the disease?
Answer:
You are doing all you can to prevent getting diabetes. You certainly cannot change risk factors like family history and age, but losing weight and exercising regularly will greatly lower your risk. You can ask your doctor or nurse practitioner to check your blood sugar after fasting (nothing to eat or drink overnight for at least eight hours) once a year just to be sure.
JS
