Until you’ve been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, it isn’t too late to begin working to prevent it. Some serious research indicates that people over the age of 60 can take steps that will actually prevent Type 2 diabetes. The steps are simple, too. There really isn’t anything all that hard about it, and the rewards are untold!

Losing only a few pounds and increasing exercise by only a little makes a very big difference in the risk for Type 2 diabetes in seniors. The numbers are pretty astounding. About 40% (that’s FORTY PERCENT) of all adults between the ages of 40 and 74 have prediabetes — that’s 41 MILLION people. Prediabetes is a medical condition that greatly increases the risk of developing diabetes as well as increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke.

There is so much hope for preventing Type 2 diabetes in seniors that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) launched a campaign to educate seniors. The campaign is called “It’s Not Too Late to Prevent Diabetes: Take Your First Step Today.”

The message of this campaign is that seniors can prevent or at least delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes by making very simple and easy changes, such as losing just a few pounds and increasing their daily exercise by only a little.

Almost all cases of Type 2 diabetes are diagnosed in people who are 40 years of age or older. This over-40 crowd is most often obese AND sedentary.

Obesity is the largest single factor in the development of Type 2 diabetes, with lack of exercise running a very close second. You CAN do something to help yourself. While it is never too late to start, it’s never too early to start, either!