Prediabetes, a health condition affecting more than 80 million American adults, occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as Type 2 diabetes.

A normal fasting blood sugar level is less than 100 mg/dL. In prediabetes, the level is between 100 and 125. In diabetes, it is above 125.

The good news is that a 12-year study of 918 participants over age 60 who were diagnosed with prediabetes found that people with the condition are less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than originally thought.

According to the study — which was conducted by the Aging Research Center at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden — 22 percent of participants reverted to normal blood sugar levels while 13 percent of participants developed diabetes.

Things such as having lower systolic blood pressure, no heart disease, and a healthy weight could all help in reverting blood sugar levels back to normal. Adopting healthy lifestyle strategies like a plant-based diet, cutting back on sugar, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, and losing weight can help adjust those factors that turn prediabetes into a more dangerous condition.