The American Diabetes Association Alert Day is a one-day "wake-up" call to inform the American public about the seriousness of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) encourages people to join the movement to Stop Diabetes by taking the Diabetes Risk Test and find out if they, or their loved ones, are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes is a devastating disease that, according to ADA, affects nearly 24 million Americans. Nearly 6 million Americans are unaware they have diabetes. An additional 57 million, or one in five Americans have pre-diabetes, which puts them at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If current trends continue, one in three children born today will face a future with diabetes.
For many, diagnosis of type 2 diabetes may come seven to ten years after the onset of the disease. Therefore, early diagnosis is critical to successful treatment and delaying or preventing some of its complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, amputation and death.
Among the primary risk factors for type 2 diabetes are being overweight, sedentary, over the age of 45, and having a family history of diabetes. African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders are at an increased risk, as are women who have had babies weighing more than nine pounds at birth. Studies have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by losing just five to seven percent of body weight through regular physical activity (30 minutes a day, five days a week) and healthy eating.
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