Seniors With Prediabetes Shouldn’t Fret Too Much

If you have prediabetes, eat better and exercise more, but don't stress too much about diabetes

It’s OK to tell older adults with prediabetes to exercise more and eat carbohydrates evenly throughout the day. But they the chance of progressing from prediabetes to diabetes is not that high. l i g h t p o e t/Shutterstock

Almost half of older adults—more than 26 million people aged 65 and older—have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). How concerned should they be?

Not very, some experts say. Prediabetes—a term that refers to above-normal, but not extremely high blood sugar levels—isn’t a disease, and it doesn’t imply that older adults who have it will inevitably develop Type 2 diabetes, they note.