According to the American Diabetes Association, over 30 million children and adults in the United States are affected with Diabetes, 84 million have pre-diabetes, and one in four adults are not even aware that they have diabetes. Today is Diabetes Alert Day, observed annually on the fourth Tuesday in March, bringing awareness to the seriousness of diabetes.
While it’s the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition in the black community. Diabetes is 60 percent more common in blacks than their white counterparts. Risk factors related to diabetes in blacks are high cholesterol, overweight and obesity, hypertension, and cigarette smoking.
In addition, complications associated with Diabetes include diabetic eye disease, kidney disease, amputation, and cardiovascular disease. Because of the seriousness of diabetes in the black community, it is important to be educated and aware of how you are affected. Knowing your family’s history of diabetes and assessing your lifestyle is the start of knowing your risk. Because one and four Americans are unaware that they are living with diabetes, the American Diabetes Association has a Diabetes Risk Test to see if you are at risk for Type 2 diabetes.
So how can you lower your risk, prevent, or manage Type 2 diabetes? It can be as easy as making simple lifestyle changes.
Get Active
As little as 30 minutes of physical activity or moving around can