What are the risk factors for diabetes?
Family history is the main risk factor for type 1 diabetes. Many risk factors for type 2 diabetes are also risk factors for heart disease. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:
- Older age
- Obesity
- Carrying body fat around the belly (“apple-shaped”)
- Family history of diabetes
- Lack of exercise (fewer than 3 times a week)
- Impaired glucose tolerance in an earlier diabetes test
- Delivering a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or history of gestational diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Low HDL (good) cholesterol or high LDL (bad) cholesterol
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Certain ethnicities, including African American, Native American/Alaska Native, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
How can I prevent type 1 diabetes?
There are no known ways to prevent type 1 diabetes. A nationwide study called the Diabetes Prevention Trial Type 1 (DPT-1) found that insulin injections or pills failed to prevent type 1 diabetes from developing.11 Studies are underway to find a way to prevent type 1 diabetes in people who have close relatives with the disease, and therefore a higher risk of developing it.
How can I prevent type 2 diabetes?
Weight and blood sugar control through diet and exercise are the best ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. If you have prediabetes, you are more likely to develop diabetes, but you can take steps to delay or prevent it. In the Diabetes Prevention Program, losing 7% of body weight and exercising for 150 minutes per week (30 minutes a day most days) more than halved the risk of diabetes in men and women of all races with prediabetes. For people over 60 years of age, these healthy habits lowered the risk of diabetes by 71%.12
For more information, see our sections on Heart Healthy Diet, Overweight & Obesity, and Exercise.
How is diabetes treated?
The main goal of treating diabetes is to prevent the problems that diabetes can cause, including heart disease. If you have diabetes, controlling your blood sugar level through diet and exercise (and medications or insulin shots if necessary) will reduce your chances of having complications of diabetes. Among adults with diabetes, 12% take both insulin and oral blood sugar-lowering medications, 19% take insulin only, 53% take oral medications only, and 15% take neither.13
What are the ABC's of diabetes management?
There are three major treatment goals to keep your diabetes under control: the ABCs of diabetes management. Following the ABCs of diabetes management lowers your risk of death due to diabetes and having complications of diabetes, especially heart disease. Ask your doctor what your numbers are, what your individual goals should be, and what you need to do to reach and maintain them.
A is for A1C test (short for hemoglobin A1C). This simple blood test measures your average blood sugar over the last 3 months, and you should have it done at least twice a year. Aim to have an A1C level less than 7%.
B is for blood pressure. You should aim for a blood pressure less than 130/80. Have your blood pressure checked at every doctor's visit.
C is for cholesterol. Aim to have your LDL (bad) cholesterol less than 100 mg/dL. Have your cholesterol checked at least once a year.
Your healthcare provider can help you develop a plan for things you should do every day to take care of your diabetes, including following a healthy eating plan (eat your meals and snacks around the same time each day) and being physically active for a total of 30 minutes most days. If you have diabetes, you are at higher risk for many other diseases and problems. In addition to treating the diabetes itself, it's important to reduce other risk factors you have and to keep an eye out for other conditions (such as vision or foot problems).
