Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar is high, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Individuals with fasting plasma glucose levels between 100 and 125 mg/dL or 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test values between 140 and 199 mg/dL are considered to have prediabetes. HbA1c values for these individuals would be between 5.7% and 6.4%¹.

The majority of individuals with prediabetes are undiagnosed as it is an asymptomatic condition.

Personalized medical nutrition therapy interventions are proven to be widely beneficial in preventing prediabetes from advancing to overt diabetes and in some cases even reversing to normal conditions.

Studies indicate that individuals who are identified with prediabetes should be placed on an intensive behavioral lifestyle intervention program or an individualized MNT provided by a qualified dietitian with goals to

• Improve eating habits
• Regularly exercise for at least 150 minutes per week
• Achieve a loss of body weight by 7-10% if needed and maintaining the same².

REFERENCES:

1. Khokhar A, Naraparaju G, Friedman M, Perez-Colon S, Umpa Chitra V, Chin VL. Comparison of A1C to Oral Glucose Tolerance Test for the Diagnosis of Prediabetes in Overweight and Obese Youth. Clin Diabetes. 2017Jul;35(3):133-140.

2. Alison B Evert et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults with Diabetes or Prediabetes, Diabetes Care 2019 May; 42(5): 731-754.