Understanding Pre-Diabetes

Pre-Diabetes and Lifestyle Changes to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

What is Pre-Diabetes?

It is recommended that you be tested for pre-diabetes if either of the following applies:

• You are overweight and older than 45 years of age
• You are overweight and under the age of 45, but have a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, or high blood lipids (fat); are African-American, Native-American, Hispanic, or Asian; have a history of gestational diabetes; or have given birth to a baby weighing 9 pounds or more.

How is pre-diabetes diagnosed?

A fasting blood sugar test is performed after you have had nothing by mouth (eating or drinking) for eight hours. Normal fasting blood sugar is between 70 and 99 mg/dl for people who do not have diabetes. 

A normal random blood sugar result is between 70 and 140. The diagnosis of pre-diabetes is made when two blood tests show that your fasting blood sugar level is between 100 and 125 mg/dl, or if two random (anytime) blood sugar tests are greater than or equal to 140, but below 200.

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