Does early diabetes have symptoms?
Generally not. The Centre for Health Protection states plainly that people with diabetes usually have no obvious symptoms, and that the condition can be diagnosed by measuring blood glucose during a physical examination.
Symptoms that may appear as the condition progresses:
- Thirst
- Passing more urine
- Increased appetite
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Wounds that heal slowly
- A greater tendency to infection
- Dehydration and coma in severe cases
Waiting for symptoms therefore usually means the condition has already been under way for some time.
This shapes the whole public health approach. Hong Kong’s Chronic Disease Co-Care Programme targets residents aged 45 or above who are not known to have diabetes or hypertension, precisely because a substantial number of people in that group already have it without knowing.
What blood glucose level is the target?
Two different things are easily confused: the threshold that diagnoses diabetes, and the target for someone already diagnosed. What the Health Bureau’s primary care reference sets out is the second — the treatment target.
The most useful thing about this table is what sits beside the glucose figures. Body mass index and waist appear alongside them, which is the point: managing diabetes is not one number. It is also why the Chronic Disease Co-Care Programme follows weight and waist as well.
These are treatment targets, not diagnostic thresholds, and they do not apply to everyone. The actual target is set by a doctor according to age, duration and other conditions; this page offers no individual advice.
| Measure | Well controlled | Poorly controlled |
|---|---|---|
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 4 to 7 | 8 or above |
| HbA1c (%) | Below 7 | 7 or above |
| Body mass index (kg/m²) | Below 23 | 27.5 or above |
| Waist (men) | Under 90 cm (36 in) | 90 cm or above |
| Waist (women) | Under 80 cm (32 in) | 80 cm or above |
Diabetes diet: what needs watching?
The Centre for Health Protection states that diabetes diet is about distributing carbohydrate across meals, soups, fruit and snacks through the day: carbohydrate intake affects blood glucose, and distributing it well across the day controls that level effectively.
The Department of Health’s Elderly Health Service gives a concrete conversion, the carbohydrate exchange: the carbohydrate in two chestnuts is roughly equal to one tablespoon of rice. That single line is more useful than any reminder to “watch your diet”, because it puts snacks back on the same ruler — roasted chestnuts, corn and lotus root are rarely thought of as starch in Hong Kong, but the body counts them as such.
The same material adds one instruction worth following literally: consult a health professional rather than following another patient’s meal plan. Medication, weight, activity and complications all differ, so another person’s portions do not transfer.
| Principle | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Regular timing, measured amounts | Avoid going too hungry or too full, to keep blood glucose stable; eat smaller meals more often |
| Distribute carbohydrate | Starch, fructose and lactose all affect blood glucose and must be spread through the day — soups, fruit and snacks included |
| Balanced and varied | Follow the Healthy Eating Food Pyramid: grains, vegetables, fruit, meat/fish/egg and alternatives, dairy and alternatives |
| High fibre | More vegetables, fruit, wholemeal bread, brown rice |
| Low-fat cooking | Blanching, steaming, braising, stewing, baking and quick stir-frying with little oil; less high-fat food |
| Avoid high sugar | Avoid foods high in sugar |
