Daily HealthBeat Tip

Do you have diabetes?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ray Sass with HHS HealthBeat.

Do you have diabetes? A study says a third of diabetics might answer that question wrong.

Researchers analyzing national survey data found many people with diabetes who didn�t know they had the disease. Others had higher-than-average blood glucose levels, a form of prediabetes called impaired fasting glucose, or IFG. People with IFG are at serious risk of developing diabetes and of having a heart attack or stroke.

Dr. Catherine Cowie of the National Institutes of Health:

"We need to do a better job of diagnosing the one in three people who don't know they have diabetes as well as the people who have IFG. We also need to do a better job of convincing people that they need to adopt healthy behaviors that will prevent these conditions." (15 seconds)

These healthy behaviors include cutting calories and increasing physical activity.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ray Sass.

Last revised: September 25, 2006

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