Are You at Risk for Diabetes?

It's clear that certain factors increase the risk for type 2 diabetes including:

Family history. The risk of type 2 diabetes increases if your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.

Weight. Being overweight is a primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The more fatty tissue you have, the more resistant your cells become to insulin.

Inactivity. The less active you are, the greater your risk of type 2 diabetes. Physical activity helps you control your weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin.

Age. The risk of type 2 diabetes increases as you get older, especially after age 45. That's probably because people tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass and gain weight as they age. But type 2 diabetes is also increasing dramatically among children, adolescents and younger adults.

Race. Although it's unclear why, people of certain races — including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians and Asian-Americans — are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than whites are.

Gestational diabetes. If you developed gestational diabetes when you were pregnant, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later increases. If you gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (4.1 kilograms), you're also at risk of type 2 diabetes.

Fat distribution. If your body stores fat primarily in your abdomen, your risk of type 2 diabetes is greater than if your body stores fat elsewhere, such as your hips and thighs.

Pre-diabetes. Prediabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. Left untreated, prediabetes often progresses to type 2 diabetes.

Take the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Risk Test (www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/diabetes-risk-test/) to determine your risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

For more information, call 229-312-1392. The Diabetes Resource Center is located in Albany at 425 W. Third Avenue, Suite 350 in Medical Tower I.