Some 57 million US residents have prediabetes, and almost 24 million, 8% of the population, already have diabetes, says the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.

Speaking at a meeting in Washington, DC, on 23 July, the endocrinologists said that doctors need to identify people with prediabetes and treat them by recommending changes to lifestyle, such as diet and exercise, and prescribing drugs if necessary. Otherwise the human and financial cost would be huge, they warned.

In a consensus statement they said that prediabetes “raises short term absolute risk of type 2 diabetes five to sixfold.” Complications of diabetes begin early in the progression from normal glucose tolerance …