Moms, Prioritize Your Health this Mother's Day

Women seem to do it all: they take care of their families, their pets, their homes, their finances, and their careers. With busy schedules and seemingly never-ending to-do lists, many women may be putting their own health last. But what if this year for Mother's Day you put yourself and your health at the top of your to-do list? How? By talking to your doctor about prediabetes.

One in three Americans has prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough yet for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. You can have prediabetes for years but have no clear symptoms, so it often goes undetected until serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes show up. It's important to talk to your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested if you have any of the risk factors for prediabetes. Some of these risk factors include being overweight, being 45 years or older, having a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes, and ever having had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or giving birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds.

Prediabetes can often be reversed, and your doctor can recommend resources and programs to help you reduce your type 2 diabetes risk, including University of Florida IFAS in partnership with the Department of Health in Putnam County, part of the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention. At UF IFAS, participants work with a trained lifestyle coach to learn how to make healthier choices when it comes to physical activity, healthy eating, and managing stress. The program is based on research that found that people with prediabetes who lost 5% to 7% of their body weight cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes in half. For those over age 60, they reduced their risk by 71%.

As a lifestyle coach and a Mother, I can tell you mothers always put themselves last. This year for Mother's Day take the time and put yourself and your health first. This program works and along with the healthy changes you get support and encouragement from fellow participants on the same journey of diabetes prevention.

This Mother's Day, do something for yourself and talk to your doctor about prediabetes. If you find out you have it, you can take steps now to reverse it! Learn more about UF IFAS Prevent T2 program at http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/putnamco/2018/02/06/prevent-type-2-diabetes/

Moms, Do Something for Yourselves this Mother's Day

You take care of your family, your pets, your home, your finances, and your career. But are you taking care of yourself? With busy schedules and seemingly never-ending to-do lists, many women may be putting their own health last. But what if this year for Mother's Day, you put yourself and your health at the top of your to-do list? How? By talking to your doctor about prediabetes.

Find out if you have prediabetes

One in three Americans has prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough yet for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. You can have prediabetes for years but have no clear symptoms, so it often goes undetected until serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes show up. It's important to talk to your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested if you have any of the risk factors for prediabetes. Risk factors include:

• Being overweight
• Being 45 years or older
• Having a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
• Ever having had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or giving birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds

Got a minute? That's all it takes to find out if you might have prediabetes. Take the risk test today at doihaveprediabetes.org.

Spanish:

¿Tienes un minuto? Eso es todo lo que necesitas para verificar si es posible que tengas prediabetes. Hazte la evaluación de riesgo hoy en doihaveprediabetes.org/es.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

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