Many people have no idea of their risk of developing diabetes. Beaumont Health offers the public to discover theirs by taking a new, free online Diabetes Health Risk Assessment at www.beaumont.org/diabetes-risk. In a few minutes, people can learn about their risk of developing diabetes and recommended next steps.
Take the test
To begin, input your age, sex, height and weight. Add your ethnicity and smoking history. Then, enter your weekly minutes of moderate and vigorous exercise and answer a question about having a primary care physician and when your last medical check-up took place.
Next, come questions about whether you or your parents, brothers, sisters or children have, or had, diabetes. You’ll be asked if your waist is larger than 34 inches and — for women — whether you had diabetes when pregnant. The test also asks whether you have high blood pressure and if you take medications for blood pressure, diabetes or cholesterol.
The last questions ask about your cholesterol number, fasting blood sugar and contact information to receive your personalized risk assessment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
• Diabetes affects about 30.3 million Americans or about 9.4 percent of the U.S. population.
• Nearly 1 in 4 adults living with diabetes, or 7.2 million Americans, have it and don’t know it.
• Another 84 million Americans have prediabetes, with blood glucose levels higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Left untreated, it will advance to diabetes within five years
• Nine out of 10 adults with prediabetes don’t know they have it.
Take your diabetes risk seriously
People with diabetes — a chronic, metabolic disorder — are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke as people without diabetes — and at an earlier age. Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease, lower-limb amputations and adult-onset blindness.
For people who wish to lower their risk of developing diabetes or who have diabetes, Beaumont Health offers a variety of resources, including the “Diabetes” episode on the Beaumont HouseCall Podcast with endocrinologist Dr. Michael Brennan.
“Type 2 diabetes can usually be prevented through healthy eating and moderate physical activity. We support those at risk, and those diagnosed, in altering their diet, incorporating more activity and making other lifestyle changes,” said Alicia Jackson, manager, Diabetes Program, Beaumont Community Health and Outreach. “Each time we help people to find the road to good health, we are inspired by their dedication and hard work.”