One-minute test can help millions of people who don't know they have prediabetes, according to CDC
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is rolling out a new campaign encouraging people to take a one-minute test to see if they are at risk of prediabetes.
"Prediabetes is just when a person's blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes," said Dr. Christopher Holliday, director of the Division of Diabetes Translation for the CDC.
Experts say finding out if you are at risk of prediabetes is the first step to preventing or delaying a more serious problem.
"Prediabetes is a serious health condition that puts people at risk for other health conditions like type two diabetes, or heart attack and stroke," said Holliday, who helped spearhead the 'Do I Have Prediabetes?' campaign for the CDC.
"One in three U.S. adults has prediabetes ,and 81% of them don't know they have it. That amounts to about 98 million people," Holliday said. "Largely, prediabetes is asymptomatic. There are no signs or symptoms."
The test aims to help people find out if they are at high risk by answering a few questions on the website.
"This risk test really helps them to understand based on various factors, whether they have a little bit of overweight, whether they have a family member that has type two diabetes, like their mother, father, sister or brother, whether they have been physically inactive or have had a not the best nutrition," Holliday said.
Dr. Holliday hopes the national PSA and one-minute risk test will prompt people to take action.
Click here to take the test: Take The Prediabetes Risk Test | DoIHavePrediabetes.org
"The good news is that prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed, and it's done through modest lifestyle changes," Holliday said.