Prediabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar levels is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. Left untreated, prediabetes often progresses to type 2 diabetes.

Being overweight or obese is a main risk.

Storing fat mainly in your abdomen - rather than your hips and thighs - indicates a greater risk. Your risk of type 2 diabetes rises if you’re a man with a waist circumference above 40 inches (101.6 cm) or a woman with a measurement above 35 inches.

The less active you are, the greater your risk. Physical activity helps control your weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin.

The risk of type 2 diabetes increases if your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.

Although it's unclear why, people of certain races and ethnicities - including Black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian people, and Pacific Islanders - are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than white people are.

An increased risk is associated with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol - the "good" cholesterol - and high levels of triglycerides.

The risk of type 2 diabetes increases as you get older, especially after age 45.

Your risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases if you developed gestational diabetes when you were pregnant or if you gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (4 kg).

Having polycystic ovary syndrome - a common condition characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth and obesity - increases the risk of diabetes.

A resistance to the hormone insulin, resulting in increased blood sugar levels.

Results in areas of darkened skin in the arm pits and neck. This condition may indicate insulin resistance.