A quarter-size device that tracks the rise and fall of sugar in your blood is the latest source of hope \u2014 and hype \u2014 in the growing buzz around wearable health technology.<\/p>\n
Continuous glucose monitors, small patches that provide 24-hour insight into concentrations of sugar in the blood, could be a tool for Americans to \u201ctake control over their own health,\u201d Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently told federal lawmakers. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey can take responsibility,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThey can begin to make good judgments about their diet, about their physical activity, about the way they live their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The devices have lifesaving benefits for people with diabetes, the disease caused when blood sugar remains high because their bodies don\u2019t make enough insulin or become resistant to it. The condition, which affects more than 38 million people in the U.S., raises the risk of serious health problems such as heart and kidney disease and vision loss.<\/p>\n
But the devices have surged in popularity among people without diabetes. Sales have been driven by high-profile marketers such as Casey Means<\/a>, the nominee for U.S. surgeon general<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s scant evidence the monitors are useful for people with normal blood sugar levels, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. <\/p>\n This article is part of AP\u2019s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.<\/a><\/p>\n Healthy bodies can effectively regulate glucose after meals and provide the energy they need to function. Glucose monitors may lead people to misinterpret normal swings in blood sugar that happen after eating or activity. In addition, the devices can be \u201cnotoriously inaccurate,\u201d<\/a> providing misleading readings,<\/a> she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem with wearing these is that you can just be zooming in on and creating pathology when it\u2019s not there,\u201d Dushay said.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know about the devices:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what a continuous glucose monitor does<\/p>\n The device is a small patch, about the size of two stacked quarters, usually placed on the upper arm or stomach. It uses a needle to painlessly pierce the skin for a tiny sensor. <\/p>\n The sensor measures the glucose in fluid under the skin, delivering a signal every few minutes to a phone app or a handheld display. The apps typically record blood sugar levels and help people track the foods they eat and how they impact those levels. <\/p>\n When healthy people eat a meal that contains carbohydrates, their blood sugar rises, peaks and falls in response to the food.<\/p>\n A healthy fasting blood glucose level for a person without diabetes is roughly 70 milligrams per deciliter to 99 milligrams per deciliter. A range from 100 to 126 milligrams per deciliter indicates prediabetes and above 126 milligrams per deciliter indicates diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.<\/p>\n In adults without diabetes, blood sugar levels can climb to 140 milligrams per deciliter or more within an hour of a meal, before falling back to baseline levels within two or three hours, according to the association. It\u2019s a sign the body is processing sugar normally.<\/p>\n Continuous glucose monitors have been available since the late 1990s<\/p>\n For decades, these devices were available only for people with diabetes. The monitors revolutionized care by allowing more precise adjustment of insulin used to treat diabetes and giving people the ability to modify meals and activity more accurately.<\/p>\n Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first over-the-counter monitors. Since then, many companies have emerged to market them, claiming to provide intensive, individualized health monitoring. Cost is generally about $100 a month. <\/p>\n They\u2019ve really caught on with consumers curious about how food and activity affect their blood sugar levels. For instance, Noom, the weight-loss and fitness app, launched a blood glucose feature last year that has proven extremely popular, said Alexander Fabry, a company executive.<\/p>\n \u201cOf the people who are using a CGM, the vast majority of them don\u2019t have a diabetes diagnosis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Who can use the monitors?<\/p>\n The devices have been lifesaving for people with diabetes. And they can be helpful for people with risk factors for the disease, including obesity, prediabetes, a history of gestational diabetes or a family history of the condition.<\/p>\n The devices can allow users to see how specific food and activity choices affect their blood sugar in near real-time, said Dr. Alaina Vidmar, a pediatric obesity specialist at Children\u2019s Hospital Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a large meal, you may watch your blood sugar go up and sort of learn something about yourself,\u201d Vidmar said. \u201cFor example, I drink a sugar-sweetened soda and my blood sugar goes up really high, really fast. And maybe I don\u2019t feel as good, right?\u201d <\/p>\n What are the cautions?<\/p>\n People without risk factors for diabetes may turn to the monitors just because they\u2019re curious, said Dr. David Kessler. A former FDA commissioner, Kessler doesn\u2019t have diabetes, but he wore a monitor for a couple months during research for his recent book, \u201cDiet, Drugs and Dopamine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a very interesting tool to experiment with if you\u2019re so inclined,\u201d Kessler said. <\/p>\n But, he noted, the devices can\u2019t be used to diagnose or treat disease. Even experts don\u2019t agree on how to interpret or provide health advice for people without diabetes based on blood sugar data. <\/p>\n \u201cNo one knows what\u2019s optimal in the nondiabetic state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Before using a monitor, Dushay asks patients to consider their motives. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re going to get from the data?\u201d she said. \u201cWhat is to be gained from wearing that monitor?\u201d <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 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