The American diabetes epidemic continues to grow. More people are at risk, and perhaps more risk than they think.
So what is your risk of developing diabetes and what happens to your risk if you lose 20 or 30 pounds?
Now you can calculate your risk of developing diabetes in the next 10 years at
qdscore.org. The results are based on a study of 2,500,000 Brits followed for 8 years (a very reliable 16,000,000 person years of follow-up). Don't you love the clarity and simplicity of their graphic?
The
study uses BMI so you can go to the
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's Web site to find your BMI. And then you can redo the calculation process assuming that you lose 20 or 30 pounds.
I find this an extremely valuable educational tool with my patients.
Show a 55-year old man with a BMI of 35 that he has a 20 percent chance of diabetes in 10 years and then show him that by losing 30 pounds he can lower his risk to 10 percent and by losing another 20 pounds he lowers his risk to 7 percent. Very powerful stuff.
The modern diabetes epidemic is the failure of prevention. Knowledge and tools like
qdscore.org is the first step toward personal understanding of our risks. And that first step is necessary to start the process of change.
Stay well. Dr. Bob