You can be diagnosed with pre-diabetes before you actually get diabetes. In pre-diabetes
you have higher than normal blood sugars but they are not at the level that they would
need to be in order to be considered diabetic. If you are obese or severely overweight and
pre-diabetic there are steps you can take to put off the actual diagnosis of diabetes or
prevent it.
The same test is used for pre-diabetes as it is for diabetes. Once you find out that you
have pre-diabetes you can make a plan with your doctor to prevent the onset of the
disease. By losing weight and either adding or increasing your level of physical activity
you can delay diabetes for quite sometime. There have been people who have gone on to
maintain a healthy weight through diet and exercise and have remained in the pre-
diabetic phase for their lives.
If you are not able to get down to your goal weight, just losing a small amount can be
beneficial. It takes an additional strain off of your body by lessening the need of the
amount of insulin that is produced. There are many other benefits that you will also get
by reducing your body weight including increased energy and cardiovascular health.
Most times, doctors do not test for diabetes unless there are risk factors present including
age (over 45 years old). But if you are considered obese, your doctor will probably order
the appropriate glucose test each year at your physical examination to check for pre-
diabetes and diabetes.
There are not always symptoms present when you have pre diabetes. But if you are
experiencing any of the signs that could signal the full disease such as an increased thirst
and need to urinate, make an appointment with your doctor for a check-up.