A new prediabetes awareness campaign was launched in July to increase awareness of the risk of diabetes in Americans. The new campaign “DoIHavePrediabetes.org” was released as a creative awareness effort developed in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association, American Medical Association, CDC, and the Ad Council.
The campaign encourages participants to take a brief, 1-minute test to determine current risk and provides suggestions for decreasing the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) entirely. The CDC reports that roughly 30 million Americans have diabetes; however, most of the additional 84 million individuals with prediabetes are unaware of their conditions and the risks to their health if not addressed.
What makes this awareness campaign unique is that the education and suggestions to decrease risk of developing T2DM through simple lifestyle changes are delivered using entertaining animal videos created pro bono by Ogivly New York for this Ad Council Campaign. In the July press release, the President and CEO of the Ad Council, Lisa Sherman, remarked about the positive impact of this campaign. “Last year’s work for our type 2 diabetes awareness campaign was such a hit with its combination of humor and the realistic prediabetes risk test. It led to remarkable number of people learning where they stand with prediabetes,” Sherman stated.
People who face health challenges such as prediabetes may feel overwhelmed by both the potential diagnosis and the lifestyle modifications required to reverse the course of the disease. Research has shown that losing even small amounts of weight through increased physical activity (accomplished in do-able doses) and modest dietary changes can lower the risk for developing T2DM. Recognizing this potential impact, the CDC has led a lifestyle change campaign called the "National Diabetes Prevention Program" to assist patients who want to succeed in making these changes. (The CDC reports this program helped people lower their risk of developing T2DM by as much as 58% and even more in patients over the age of 60 with prediabetes.)
