Purestock/ThinkstockBy DR. JENNIFER ASHTON, ABC News Senior Medical Contributor

Many people know that excess weight or body fat puts them at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. But one of the more overlooked factors that can increase one’s risk of developing this disease is stress.

Stress puts your body into fight or flight mode. So, as a result, hormones like adrenaline and cortisol rise and this can impact your glucose levels.

Here’s my prescription on how you can lower your risk for diabetes and manage your stress at the same time:

• Your body needs three things each day: It needs to rest, it needs to eat and it needs to move.

• Get screened for diabetes with a simple blood test. It’s called an A1C and you don’t have to be fasting to have it checked.

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