Diabetes Facts

Looking for support managing diabetes? We have education classes that can help! The Health Department hosts classes covering a variety of topics to give you more information and resources to live better and healthier, while managing your condition. Classes are four weeks long. Topics covered include:

  • blood glucose monitoring
  • nutrition label reading
  • shopping for healthy food on a budget
  • and more!

Upcoming Class

Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale 4-Week Virtual Class will be held on Tuesdays, June 8, 15, 22 and 29 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on the Ring Central platform. Log-in information will be sent to participants who register prior to the launch of the class.

 

One out of three American adults has prediabetes, and most do not know they have it.

Having prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) level is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. This raises your risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Without weight loss or moderate physical activity, many people with prediabetes can develop Type 2 diabetes within 5 years. Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition that can lead to health issues such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, or loss of toes, feet or legs.

The good news is you can prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes.

If you have prediabetes you are at-risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Paying attention to living a healthy lifestyle or getting early treatment can, for some, actually return blood sugar levels to a normal range.

Learn your risk for diabetes today so you can take action.

It’s important to know if you’re at-risk for developing diabetes, and to learn that, you’ll need to know your numbers! Those numbers are your blood sugar level, or A1C, and your blood pressure. Visit a health center for both an A1C blood test and blood pressure reading — both for just $5! No appointment needed.

Here are some additional diabetes facts:

Diabetes affects 30 million children and adults in the US. That's 1 in 11 Americans. 90% of Americans don't know they have diabetes. African Americans and Hispanics are over 50% more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. People with diabetes are at higher risk of serious health complications like kidney disease, stroke, blindness, heart disease and loss of toes, feet or legs. Every 21 seconds someone in the US is diagnosed with diabetes. People with diabetes have health care costs 2.3x greater than those without diabetes.

 

For more information about diabetes, including nutrition, understanding blood sugar and fitness tips, visit the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org.