What to do for Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? Taking Steps to Lower Your Risk of Getting Diabetes ?
Your eating, diet, and nutrition choices play an important role in preventing or delaying diabetes. Follow the suggestions below to reach and maintain a reasonable weight and make wise food choices most of the time. Remember that it can take time to change your habits and be patient with yourself. You can also get help from a dietitian or join a weight-loss program to support you while you reach your goals.
                

                
Reach and Maintain a Reasonable Body Weight
                
Your weight affects your health in many ways. Being overweight can keep your body from making and using insulin properly. Excess body weight can also cause high blood pressure. Every pound you lose lowers your risk of getting diabetes.
                
In addition to weight, the location of excess fat on the body can be important. A waist measurement of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women is linked to insulin resistance and increases a persons risk for type 2 diabetes. This is true even if your BMI falls within the normal range.
                

                
Find Your BMI
                
The BMI is a measure of body weight relative to height. The BMI can help you find out whether you are normal weight, overweight, or obese. Use the table on pages 24 and 25 to find your BMI.
                
- Find your height in the left-hand column.  - Move across in the same row to the number closest to your weight.  - The number at the top of that column is your BMI. Check the word above your BMI to see whether you are normal weight, overweight, or obese.
                
The BMI has certain limitations. The BMI may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build and underestimate body fat in older adults and others who have lost muscle.
                
The BMI for children and teens must be determined based on age, height, weight, and sex. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has information about BMI in children and teens, including a BMI calculator, at www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi. The CDC website also has a BMI calculator for adults. A BMI calculator from the NIH is available at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm.
                
The NIH also has a free smartphone app for calculating BMI. You can search My BMI Calculator on your phone to find the app. The app also provides links to information about steps you can take to bring your BMI into a healthy range.