The scale is only one gauge

If you only watched your car's speedometer, you'd miss the fuel gauge and the check engine light. The scale is your speedometer. It tells you something, but not enough.

According to the CDC, more than 2 in 5 American adults have prediabetes, and 8 in 10 of them don't know it. Type 2 diabetes builds slowly, often for years before you feel anything. These eight numbers are your warning lights.

1. A1C

A1C shows your average blood sugar over the past two to three months. Below 5.7% is normal, 5.7 to 6.4% is prediabetes, and 6.5% or higher is diabetes, according to the CDC.

2. Waist size

Your waist is a simple clue to how much fat sits deep in your belly, around your organs. That's the fat most tied to health problems.

3. Blood pressure

This is how hard your blood pushes on your blood vessels. When it stays high, your heart works overtime.

4. Triglycerides

A type of fat in your blood, made from extra calories, especially sugar and alcohol. High levels are linked to heart disease and blood sugar problems, and often improve quickly with changes in eating and activity.

5. HDL cholesterol

The "good" cholesterol, like a cleanup crew that carries extra cholesterol away from your blood vessels. Higher is better.

6. Body fat percentage

How much of your weight is fat. It shows whether you're losing fat or muscle, which the scale can't.

7. Belly fat around the organs

Doctors call it visceral fat. It's strongly linked to prediabetes, fatty liver, and heart disease.

8. Muscle mass

Muscle uses most of your blood sugar, so more muscle helps keep it in check. Keeping muscle matters as much as losing fat.

Measure what matters

At Health 360 Wellness, your plan starts with data: a body composition scan, a test of how many calories you burn at rest, fitness testing, and a full lab panel, reviewed with a physician board certified in family medicine and obesity medicine. Body composition testing is $55.

This article is for general health education and does not replace individualized medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment.