Just Diagnosed With Prediabetes? Here's What to Know

Prediabetes means the sugar in your blood is running higher than labs call typical, but not high enough to meet the definition of type 2 diabetes. It describes a number on a blood test rather than something you experience — people with prediabetes do not often have any symptoms (Connecticut Department of Public Health).

The process involved is how your body handles glucose, the sugar that circulates in your blood and fuels your cells. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, works like a key that lets glucose move out of the blood and into cells. In prediabetes, cells often respond less well to that key — this is called insulin resistance, meaning your body needs more insulin to do the same job — so glucose stays in the bloodstream longer.

Three different tests can produce the label in nonpregnant adults (American Diabetes Association, 2026):

• A1C of 5.7–6.4%. A1C reflects your average blood sugar over roughly the past two to three months.
• Fasting plasma glucose of 100–125 mg/dL, measured after not eating overnight. Clinicians call this impaired fasting glucose.
• Two-hour plasma glucose of 140–199 mg/dL during a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test, where you drink a measured sugary liquid and blood is drawn two hours later. This is called impaired glucose tolerance.

Exact reference ranges printed on a lab report can vary by laboratory, and different criteria apply in pregnancy, so it is worth asking which test produced your result.

The course varies from person to person. Some people move on to type 2 diabetes, some stay in the same range for years, and some see their numbers return to the typical range. One CDC analysis published in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in 2013 estimated that each year, 11% of people with prediabetes who do not lose weight and do not get moderate physical activity progress to type 2 diabetes, across an average of about three years of follow-up. Your own path is something your doctor can only track over time, not predict on day one.

These are listed in no particular order of importance. Several usually overlap in the same person.

• Overweight or obesity — can often be changed, with support. The ADA suggests considering testing in adults with a BMI of 25 or higher, or 23 or higher in people of Asian ancestry, who have at least one other risk factor (American Diabetes Association, 2026).
• Being physically active fewer than three times a week — can be changed (CDC).
• Age 45 or older — cannot be changed (CDC). The ADA advises that testing begin at age 35 for adults without other risk factors (American Diabetes Association, 2026).
• A parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes — cannot be changed (CDC).
• Being African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, or of certain Pacific Islander or Asian American backgrounds — cannot be changed (CDC).
• A past pregnancy with gestational diabetes, or a baby weighing over 9 pounds at birth — cannot be changed, as it is history (CDC).
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, meaning fat build-up in the liver not caused by alcohol — can often be managed with a clinician (CDC).
• High blood pressure or existing cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) disease — can often be managed with a clinician (American Diabetes Association, 2026).

1. Get the actual numbers. Request a copy of the lab report through your patient portal or the office, and write down the test name, the result with its units (such as A1C in % or fasting glucose in mg/dL) and the date.
2. Write down your family history. Note any parent, sibling or child with type 2 diabetes, and any pregnancy history involving gestational diabetes or a baby over 9 pounds.
3. List everything you take. Include prescription medicines, over-the-counter products, supplements and anything containing steroids, with the strength as printed on the label.
4. Keep a short two-week log. Jot down meals, movement, sleep and anything you have noticed — increased thirst, urinating more at night, blurred vision or unexplained weight loss are worth writing down and mentioning promptly.
5. Bring written questions so they do not get lost.

Ask about the testing plan

"Which test gave this result, what exactly was the number, and when do you want to repeat it?"

Ask about structured programs

"Am I a candidate for a CDC-recognized National Diabetes Prevention Program, and is there one near me or online?"

1. Check coverage ahead of time. Call the number on your insurance card and ask what is covered for diabetes prevention; Medicare has covered participation in the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program for eligible people since 2018 (NIDDK, NIH).