Miss Hoover to host diabetes awareness event at Galleria

On March 26, Miss Hoover 2013 Briana Kinsey will raise diabetes awareness as a part of the Alert Day Campaign. For the campaign, the American Diabetes Association is encouraging people to take the Diabetes Risk Test, as well as to share the test with everyone they care about. Kinsey will provide free copies of the test and signing autographs in the food court in the Riverchase Galleria from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Alert Day is held every fourth Tuesday in March, but the Diabetes Risk Test is available year-round and it can also be taken online at any time.

The test asks users to answer simple questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risks for prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. Preventative tips are provided for everyone who takes the test, including encouraging those at high risk to talk with their health care provider.

Diabetes strikes nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States, and a quarter of them—7 million—do not even know they have it. An additional 79 million, or one in three American adults, have prediabetes, which puts them at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. Recent estimates project that as many as one in three American adults will have diabetes in 2050.

Diagnosis often comes 7 to 10 years after the onset of the disease, after disabling and even deadly complications have had time to develop. Therefore, early diagnosis is critical to successful treatment and delaying or preventing some of its complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, amputation and death.