Risk factors for developing diabetes include the following:

• Being aged 35 or over
• Being overweight (especially if you carry most of your weight around your middle.
• Being a member of a high-risk group (in South Africa if you are of Indian descent you are at particular risk).
• Having a family history of diabetes
• Having given birth to a baby that weighed over 4kg at birth, or have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy
• Having high cholesterol or other fats in the blood
• Having high blood pressure or heart disease

Early diagnosis of diabetes is extremely important if complications are to be prevented or delayed. If you are over 35 and have any of the risk factors highlighted in the “Who is at Risk” section, you should be tested every year.

A simple finger-prick test at your local pharmacy or clinic can diagnose the strong likelihood that you may have diabetes within a minute.