Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body is unable to properly break down the sugar found in food and beverages consumed. This can lead to too much sugar remaining in the bloodstream. Diabetes can be managed, and there are many steps you can take to lower your risk of diabetes. Over time, if not well managed, diabetes can cause serious health problems including blindness, loss of a limb, kidney disease, stroke, and heart disease.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, which leads to the body not properly using or not responding to the insulin the pancreas produces to control the sugar in your bloodstream. This is also known as insulin resistance, a term doctors sometimes use when talking about diabetes risk. Type 2 diabetes generally develops because of lifestyle and genetics.

Recent data from the Global Burden Disease Project shows that diabetes was one of the leading causes of illness in New York State. In New York City, the Bronx has the highest prevalence of diabetes and it continues to increase over time.

A simple blood test can determine whether you have diabetes or prediabetes, which means that your blood sugar is higher than normal but it is not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 84.1 million adults in the United States have prediabetes, this is equal to 1 in 3 people; and 90 percent of these people are not aware that they have it. Some risk factors that may put a person at a higher risk for prediabetes, according to the CDC, include:

• Being overweight
• Being 45 years or older
• Having family history of type 2 diabetes
• Having high blood pressure
• Being sedentary (not exercising)
• Having history of diabetes during pregnancy, often called gestational diabetes

The good news is type 2 diabetes can be delayed or even prevented. If prediabetes is present, making small lifestyle changes can help to avoid or delay type 2 diabetes in the future. These lifestyle changes include:

• Exercising regularly
• Losing weight
• Eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and good fats, but not too much sugar or unhealthy fats

If you meet any of the risk factors previously mentioned and are at a higher possibility for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, it is important to get regular screenings; talk to your provider about getting tested. Montefiore offers a free diabetes prevention program for its patients to help them achieve a healthier lifestyle; you can ask your Montefiore provider to see if you qualify. Talk to your doctor and take charge of your health.

Thiara Perez is an outreach supervisor for Montefiore Health System’s Diabetes Prevention Program.