Diabetes: It's something "you don't want to mess with," says one local public health specialist

LOWVILLE- There are 96 million American adults who have pre-diabetes. That's according to the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC).

That equivalates to around 1 in 3 adults who apply to that statistic. Furthermore, health experts say more than 8 in 10 of them don’t even know they have it.

Without taking action, many people with pre-diabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. 

What is pre-diabetes? The CDC says having pre-diabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal—but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.

Pre-diabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes.

Pre-diabetes can often be reversed, but it's something you don't want to mess with, especially with the consequences that often follow with someone who becomes diabetic, says one local public health official. 

"You want to avoid getting diabetes because that can lead to heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, kidney disease, foot problems, eye disease, gum disease, dental problems and even sexual or bladder problems," Lewis County Public Health Specialist Mary Lynn Fager told us. 

"It's just so much easier to get it in the preventative stage than it is once you're actually diabetic." 

Listen to our latest on-air segment with Mary Lynn Fager for more details:

Do you meet the criteria for being pre-diabetic? Take the self-risk test here.

How do you prevent diabetes? Well, the answer is actually simpler than you may think. Fager tells us the steps to preventing diabetes and living a healthier lifestyle are about as basic as they come.  

"Actually putting them into place is where it changes," she emphasized. 

You can learn these lifestyle changes by signing up for the latest pre-diabetes prevention course, organized and offered up via Lewis County's Public Health Office.

The course was organized last spring and is held every few months. Each group starts off by meeting on a weekly basis, but will eventually ease into different schedules as the course progresses. 

The program is aimed for people who are pre-diabetic, but Fager confirmed with us recently that people who would simply like to learn a healthier lifestyle and shed those extra pounds are now more than welcome to join. 

For more information on signing-up, be sure to visit Lewis County Public Health's website. You can also call the main office at 315-376-5453.

Image via Lewis County Public Health.