Physical Wellness

CDC Campaign Aims to Increase Awareness about Prediabetes

By Cheri Cheng | Update Date: Jan 22, 2016 09:36 AM EST

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has headed a new campaign to increase awareness about prediabetes.

The CDC along with the American Medical Association, the American Diabetes Association and the Ad Council have launched the first ever national public service advertising (PSA) campaign for prediabetes, a condition that is characterized by higher than normal blood sugar levels that can lead to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis if left unchecked.

"Eighty-six million people have prediabetes and only 10 percent know they have it," CDC Diabetes Translation Director Ann Albright told CBS News. "No one is excused from prediabetes."

She added, "Fifteen to 30 percent of the people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years if they don't take action and get involved with lifestyle changes."

In the PSA campaign, the medical experts used a little bit of humor to attract people's attention. In the clip below, a comical doctor teaches people how to quickly determine whether or not they most likely have prediabetes.

In the other clips, the doctor sarcastically tells different groups of people such as busy moms that they are not exempt from a having prediabetes, reiterating the fact that anyone have the condition (Watch the clips below).

Albright stated that their decision to use humor was based on a ton of research into how they can effectively reach at-risk groups, which are mainly people in their 40s to 60s.

"This campaign, after a lot of focus testing and research with Ogilvy and Mather, the ad agency, and the Ad Council, we decided that humor was the way to go. It's lighter but it does grab peoples' attention," said Albright. "It's a clever way of helping people see themselves."

Albright and the other experts involved with the campaign hope that people who see these PSA will try and change their lifestyle habits for the better.

"Our hope is that this online test and other campaign materials make it easy for people to know where they stand and will motivate them to take steps to reverse their condition," Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council, said in a statement.

People can take the one-minute long quiz online here or text "RISKTEST" to 97779. If you believe that you could have prediabetes, get tested with primary care doctor.

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