There are things you can do to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes:

• Use the body mass index calculator to check your BMI and find out if you're a healthy weight
• Use the diabetes risk tool find out if you're at risk of developing diabetes
• Advice about how to manage your weight
• Advice about how to stop smoking
• Advice about how to manage your alcohol intake
• Swap sugary foods for healthier food choices
• Increase your movement and get active

Many more people have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed as having diabetes.

This is sometimes known as at risk of diabetes. If your blood sugar level is above the normal range, your risk of developing full-blown diabetes is increased.

Type 2 diabetes is a a potentially serious health condition that can cause long-term health problems. It can lead to sight loss, kidney failure, loss of a limb, and makes you at least twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke.

It’s very important that you find out if you are at high risk of type 2 diabetes so you can get support to lower your risk. You may even be eligible for your free local Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

The Diabetes UK risk tool can help you find out if you’re at risk of developing the condition. It takes just a few minutes and could be the most important thing you do today.

You may have recently had a blood test to find out if your are pre-diabetic. The HbA1c measures of the amount of glucose in your blood. If it measures between 42 and 47 mmol/mol, it signifies you’re at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high.

There are 2 main types of diabetes:

• type 1 diabetes – where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
• type 2 diabetes – where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body's cells do not react to insulin

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have type 2.

During pregnancy, some women have such high levels of blood glucose that their body is unable to produce enough insulin to absorb it all. This is known as gestational diabetes.

The amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas (a gland behind the stomach).

When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it's broken down to produce energy.

However, if you have diabetes, your body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there's either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or the insulin produced does not work properly.

There are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes.

You can help manage type 2 diabetes through healthy eating, regular exercise and achieving a healthy body weight.