Oprah Winfrey responding to a diabetes epidemic considered to be a health crisis by many experts, dedicating today’s show to the disease will announce Americans to advantage of the free test to find out whether they are at risk for type 2 diabetes.

Taping Thursday’s show, Winfrey called diabetes a ticking time bomb and a silent killer, expressing particular concern as African Americans are 80% more likely than non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz and exercise physiologist Bob Greene, Oprah’s health compatriots will feature in the show, including an audience full of fans with diabetes, as well as, a group of church women from Dayton, Ohio worried about their weight.

Viewers will be encouraged by Oprah and her team of health experts to visit the nearest Walgreens pharmacy Friday and get a free blood glucose reading to find out whether they are at risk for type 2 diabetes. Results will be available right away after being tested.

Walgreens pharmacy chain is in all 50 states, with almost 90% of Americans within 30 miles of a location offering the free test. Over the next two weeks, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners will be on hand Friday at select stores for giving the tests to anyone over 18. You can visit www. walgreens. com/diabetes for more information.

As well, Walgreens is offering education on diabetes to those at risk for type 2, when the body’s cells are unable to make proper use of carbohydrates for energy. However, the test is not an accurate type 1 diabetes predictor, which is the outcome of the pancreas’ inability to produce the hormone insulin for helping cells metabolize carbohydrates.

Formerly, a condition only for the middle-aged and the elderly, diabetes is now affecting many young adults due to the changing lifestyles. Lack of physical activity, improper diet full of calorie laden food, and increasing weight gain is contributing to people in their twenties developing the condition.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 85 to 90% of cases in Europe and is estimated to rise further in near future. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2025 over 75% of people with diabetes will be from India.

Left untreated and unmanaged, type 2 diabetes over the long tern results in nerve damage, kidney and heart disease, amputations and blindness.

You can get yourself tested at Walgreens even after having eaten before the test, as all that is required is a simple finger prick for a drop of blood.