There’s a new wake-up call to inform the public about the seriousness of diabetes.
Tuesday was Diabetes Alert Day, organized by the American Diabetes Association. It says every year there are more than one million Americans newly diagnosed with diabetes. In Michigan, the ADA estimates close to 965,000 people are living with the disease.
Ashley Giardino is a health coach with Teladoc Health and told us more about risk factors.
“So it is a little bit different depending on what type of diabetes you have,” Giardino said. “So Type 1 diabetes, it plays more into your family history or genetics and of course age. You’re usually diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a younger age. And then with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes, the most common risk factors for this are overweight or obesity as well as members of high-risk populations.”
Giardino says that also applies to those with a history of some conditions like gestational diabetes or a condition related with insulin resistance.