Major medical societies and the federal government have launched a public campaign to raise awareness of and help people with prediabetes understand how to prevent type 2 diabetes.

More than one-third of adults (86 million) in the U.S. have prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be considered for type 2 diabetes.

Stephen R. Permut, MD, wrote in an editorial on the American Medical Association (AMA) website that up to 70 percent of people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes. He added that people with prediabetes have a 20 percent increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared with people without prediabetes.

The AMA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Diabetes Association and the Ad Council partnered together to launch the first national PSA campaign for prediabetes. Ogilvy & Mather New York developed the campaign pro bono for the Ad Council, according to a news release.

The campaign, which runs in English and Spanish, appears on television, radio and online. It encourages people to go to a website and take a short test to learn their risk of having prediabetes.

The campaign’s website also provides tips on how to eat better and be more active and how to join CDC-recognized programs. People can also take the risk test and receive lifestyle tips via text messages.

“Knowing that you have prediabetes is just the first step in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes,” AMA President-Elect Andrew W. Gurman, MD said in a news release. “As soon as someone discovers they may be at risk of prediabetes, they should talk with their physician about further testing to confirm their diagnosis and discuss the necessary lifestyle changes needed to help prevent type 2 diabetes.”