Prediabetes Explained

Prediabetes means your blood sugar is higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. It is an early warning, and — this is the most important thing to understand — it is not a life sentence. Research consistently shows that the majority of people with prediabetes can return to normal glucose levels through lifestyle changes alone.

How It Works

Prediabetes is diagnosed when:

• Fasting glucose is 100–125 mg/dL (called impaired fasting glucose), or
• HbA1c is 5.7–6.4% (called impaired glucose tolerance), or
• Post-meal glucose at 2 hours is 140–199 mg/dL

Many people have prediabetes for years without knowing it because there are often no obvious symptoms. It is estimated that about 10.3% of Indian adults have prediabetes (ICMR-INDIAB study), and the number is rising because of dietary changes and reduced physical activity.

Your Target

The goal is to move your readings back into the normal range: fasting glucose below 100 mg/dL and HbA1c below 5.7%. Progress toward this goal, even if you have not yet crossed the threshold, is genuinely meaningful.

Why This Matters

Here is the encouraging reality from large research studies: the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), which tracked thousands of people with prediabetes, found that lifestyle intervention — modest weight loss and regular walking — reduced the risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes by 58%. That is more effective than medication alone (which reduced risk by 31%). A separate review (PROP-ABC study) found that 43% of people with prediabetes returned to normal glucose without any medication, through lifestyle changes alone.

India has higher rates of prediabetes than many Western countries, partly due to genetic factors that make South Asians more susceptible to insulin resistance at lower body weights. This makes lifestyle management — particularly the composition of meals, not just the quantity — especially important.

What You Can Do

• Think of prediabetes as a signal, not a verdict. Your body is telling you something, and you now have the tools to listen.
• Even modest changes compound over time: a 5–7% reduction in body weight (roughly 3–4 kg for a 60 kg person) was the target in the DPP and produced dramatic results.
• Consistent daily habits — a walk after dinner, more dal with rice, sleeping at a regular time — matter more than dramatic short-term changes.
• Use this app to track your progress. Seeing your fasting average move from 112 to 105 to 98 over months is powerful motivation.
• Continue your regular doctor visits and HbA1c tests. This app supports your care; it does not replace it.

Based on: Knowler et al., NEJM 2002 (DPP); Perreault et al., PROP-ABC 2019; ICMR-INDIAB study, Anjana et al., Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology 2023