Millions of Americans have prediabetes. But guess what? They don’t know it. Do you? Are you at risk? See if any of the characteristics on this list apply to you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 79 million Americans, 35 percent of adults 20 years of age or older and 50 percent of adults over 65 years of age, have prediabetes. Those are some statistics. Right?

Whenever I want the latest research or prediabetes I turn to diabetes expert Hope Warshaw. Hope has written numerous books on diabetes, diet and eating out. As both a registered dietitian and diabetes educator, Hope offers practical solutions for healthier eating.

Prediabetes is when your fasting glucose, aka blood sugar level, is above normal and in the range of 100 to 125 mg/dL. Another test that looks for prediabetes is the A1C, which Hope describes as a video of the last couple of months in terms of the ups and downs of your blood sugar. An abnormal test will be between 5.7 – 6.4%.

Don’t miss this: Typically when you have a physical you will NOT have an A1C test done and may need to ask for it if you feel you are at risk. Prediabetes is the initial point on the way to developing type two diabetes so the risk factors for both pre and diabetes are the same.

If you have prediabetes, you can reverse or slow down the movement from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. It’s at this point where you get the biggest bang for your actions. Hope suggests to start with these action steps:

* Lighten up on calories

* Lose 5-7% of your weight (may reduce the risk for some cancers too according to Hope)

* Keep off the weight that you lose

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