Many young adults may be missing early warning signs of metabolic dysfunction despite having normal blood sugar. Preventative health platform Vively has analysed data from its consumer platform as part of National Diabetes Week (July 12-18), saying analysis of over 4,300 blood tests suggests hidden metabolic risk is common in adults as young as 25 – years before standard screening would detect it.
Vively is an Australian preventative health platform that combines continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), blood biomarkers, personalised insights and expert health guidance to help people better understand their metabolic health and make informed lifestyle changes.
Using de-identified member data with permission, Vively found that early signs of metabolic health problems may emerge well before traditional diabetes screening detects a problem.
“Nearly three in four members (71.1%) aged 25–34 had at least one early metabolic risk marker despite having normal HbA1c – a blood test that reflects average blood sugar over the previous two to three months.
“More than half (57.8%) had two or more metabolic risk markers while their HbA1c remained within the normal range.
“By comparison, only 2.2% of the younger cohort had elevated HbA1c, indicating that most would not have been identified through standard blood sugar screening alone.
Risk markers are early biological signals that may suggest the body is becoming less metabolically healthy, often before blood sugar levels become abnormal.
Vively found while blood sugar measurements, such as HbA1c and fasting glucose, remain important tools for diagnosing prediabetes and diabetes, they may not reveal the full picture of metabolic health.
Instead, diabetes prevention should look beyond blood sugar to a broader range of biomarkers, including insulin resistance, cardiovascular health, liver health, inflammation and real-time glucose patterns.
Vively Founder Tim Veron said the findings challenge the common perception that metabolic health is primarily a concern for senior Australians.
“Type 2 diabetes takes decades to develop, but standard health screening only picks it up when you’re already at the tail end of that process,” Veron said.
“The warning signs are there in people’s 20s and 30s, when it’s still completely reversible, but very few are looking and taking action. We need to change that.”
“Don’t wait for someone to tell you something’s wrong, because by then it’s much harder to reverse the damage. Taking a little bit of time to understand your metabolic health now and making the necessary adjustments could give you decades of better health and vitality in the future.”
Other key findings
• 90% of members with normal blood sugar had broader blood markers flagged.
• 83.6% showed two or more cardiometabolic risk clusters spanning metabolic, cardiovascular, liver and inflammatory markers.
• Less than 20% were identified as at risk using standard blood sugar screening with HbA1c or fasting glucose alone.
• 87% of retested members improved at least one measurable health marker.
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