These cute Hedgehogs want you to take this simple prediabetes test

July 28, 2017 10:28 AM

Your one-minute task won’t even feel like work at all, since you’ll be watching discoing baby goat, vacationing hedgehogs, or wrestling puppies while you take the test.

___7063470___https:______static.pulse.com.gh___webservice___escenic___binary___7063470___2017___7___28___12___hedgehogs-want-you-take-prediabetes-test

There are lots of ways you can waste a minute: scrolling blindly through your social media feed, picking a hangnail, or simply staring out the window wishing 5:00 p.m. would roll around.

But here’s one way you could actually put that 60 seconds to good use. Take a one-minute test to gauge your risk of prediabetes, a precursor to diabetes that affects an estimated 1 in 3 Americans.

Bonus: Your one-minute task won’t even feel like work at all, since you’ll be watching discoing baby goat, vacationing hedgehogs, or wrestling puppies while you take the test.

That’s thanks to a new joint-venture campaign from the Ad Council, American Diabetes Association, American Medical Association, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They developed these quick, eye-catching videos filled with cute animals to raise awareness for prediabetes detection. It’s a big problem, since despite its prevalence, prediabetes usually goes unnoticed. In fact, nearly 90 percent have no idea they have it, according to the CDC.

The super easy test asks you just six questions, including your sex, your age, if you have a family history of diabetes, and if you have high blood pressure, are inactive, or are overweight. Then, you add up your points. If it’s above a certain level, you likely have prediabetes.

Of course, no online test can definitively diagnose prediabetes. You’ll need to go to your doctor for that, who will likely order a blood test to be sure. Results between 5.7 to 6.4 percent on the A1C test or fasting plasma glucose between 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter qualify as prediabetes.

Knowing you have prediabetes is crucial, since treating it—either by glucose-lowering drugs like metformin or diet and exercise changes—can delay or prevent the onset of full-blown diabetes.

That’s important, since avoiding diabetes can protect you from the serious complications of the disease, like damage to your kidneys, nerves, eyes, and heart, as we reported.