American Diabetes Alert Day

Today is the fourth Tuesday of March and if you just happen to not be in the know, then you need to get with it. This is the American Diabetes Alert Day, a day for you to take time to find out if you are at risk for diabetes.

First off find out all you would ever want to know about diabetes (and then some) here. You may be wondering if you should even be concerned about being at risk for this disease, technically no one is exempt but some are even less exempt than others. Some questions to ask yourself are - does (or did) anyone in my family have diabetes, have I ever been told I have high blood pressure, did my little bundle of joy weigh more than nine pounds at birth (ouch) or was I diabetic while "with child"? Am I Black, Latino, native American, Asian, or Pacific Islander? Am I gaining too much weight, not as physically active as I ought to be, and finally (here's the clincher)...am I getting older?

If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions then you are probably at risk for diabetes so here's your call to action. Don't wait to be told, be pro-active about your own health, call your healthcare provider and ask to be tested...the knowledge will be well worth the co-pay.

If you already know that you are diabetic then check out the American Diabetes Association for some excellent resources.

Thanks to Dr.Stuart Henochowicz for hosting Grand Rounds this week. Check it out at MedViews!

Photo courtesy of markbarkaway.

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