Pre Diabetes

Overview

Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

There are two conditions that fit into the pre-diabetes category:

• Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG)
• Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT)

IFG or IGT are detected with the same Oral Glucose Tolerance Test that is used to diagnose diabetes.

Risk factors

The risk factors for pre-diabetes are the same as those for type 2 diabetes.

Take the Risk Factor Test

Treatment

The treatment involves healthy lifestyle changes to help people make long term changes to their weight and physical activity which will help to prevent future diabetes.

People with pre-diabetes are also at increased risk of heart disease, so controlling blood pressure and blood cholesterol, particularly triglycerides is also important.

Does pre-diabetes mean type 2 diabetes?

Evidence shows that people with pre-diabetes are at high risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes. They can delay and reduce the risk of its development by adopting healthy lifestyle changes.

If you believe you are at risk, speak to your Doctor as soon as possible about having your blood glucose level checked. Early diagnosis of pre-diabetes increases the likelihood that you may be able to prevent or delay developing type 2 diabetes.

You should also make some lifestyle changes - try to lose some weight, increase your level of physical activity and adopt a healthy eating plan. Make sure you discuss these changes with your Doctor and check whether you need to take any special precautions when altering your level of physical activity. Being overweight or having excess weight around the waistline increases the risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes. Losing even as little as 5–10% or 5 – 10 kg of your body weight and keeping it off, can help reduce the risk.