Blood sugar management is crucial for people with diabetesbut target levels vary based on individual factorsnot just age.
While there are general guidelines for blood sugar levels based on age groupspersonalized plans should consider overall healthexisting conditionsand life.
Newer methods like “time in range” are emerging as important metricsfocusing on how long blood sugars stay within a target rangeoften tracked using continuous glucose monitoring.
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Keeping track of your blood sugar is a key part of diabetes management.
Diabetes is different for everyonemeaning blood sugar goals may vary for each person. Your goals may also depend on many factorsincluding ageoverall healthtime of daypregnancyand underlying health conditions.
There’s no official target for blood sugars based on agebut clinical guidelines offer some detail on starting points to consider when deciding on your personalized management plan with your diabetes care team.
Read on to learn more about blood glucose levels by age with a chart offering glucose level guidanceas well as other factors that may influence your glucose levels.
The 2025 standards of care from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) provide a guiding document for people with diabetesand many healthcare professionals follow these guidelines when working with their patients.
These guidelines provide accepted glucose ranges to aim for.
Howeverdetermining a specific glucose value or range isn’t always possible because the ADA and others often rely on the 3-month average test known as the hemoglobin A1C.
Established in the early 1990sthe A1C remains the gold standard of diabetes managementeven though it may have limitationssuch as not properly accounting for blood sugar variability.
Stillthe ADA states in its guidelines that various age groups should generally work toward a specific A1Cthough this may also vary on individual circumstances and what you and your diabetes care team feel is best for you.
The ADA uses an “A1C to glucose converter” known as estimated average glucose (eAG) to help guide people with diabetes and their clinicians in deciding what might be best for glycemic targets.
This chart details goals for specific groups of people with diabetesbased on age:
It’s important to remember that age alone isn’t a deciding factor on your blood sugar targets.
According to the ADAthese goals should be considered in a person’s individual management plan alongside other factorssuch as overall health and function.
“In a very young childsafety and simplicity may outweigh the need for glycemic stability in the short run. Simplification may decrease parental anxiety and build trust and confidencewhich could support further strengthening of glycemic targets and self-efficacy.”
“In healthy older adultsthere is no empiric need to loosen control; howeverless stringent … goals may be appropriate for patients with limited life expectancy or where the harms of treatment are greater than the benefits.”
You should always work with your diabetes care team on deciding your blood sugar targets and where you believe they should be.
For T1D or T2Dthe goal is to ensure glucose levels stay as stable as possible within the target range. Glucose level targets may vary for everyone based on their unique needs. And those targets may changeeven by those creating the diabetes guidelines.
For examplethe ADA changed its glucose level guidance in 2015 to reflect a change in thinking about overtreating and hypoglycemia concerns.
A 2014 study determined that childrenadultsand older people might be more prone to overtreating — especially if they use varying doses of insulin or glucose-lowering medications — and they should consider their lowest glucose threshold to be higher.
This prompted the ADA to revise its low threshold to 80 mg/dL.
Time in range
Whatever your personalized target goals may be for blood sugarsit’s important to consider a newer concept known as “time in range.” This is becoming a more recognized standard in determining how you’re managing your diabetesbased largely on continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data.
For any of your target glucose rangesdiabetes experts recommend that nonpregnant adults with diabetes try for 70% of their blood sugars to be within their target range. Others may have differing TIR goalssuch as over 50% for older adults or those at higher risk of hypoglycemia.
According to the ADAthe target blood sugar level for someone older than 65 years is 70 to 180 mg/dL. It’s important to determine your target with a healthcare professionalas it can vary depending on many factors.
Prediabetes is diagnosed when your fasting glucose levels are 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.7 to 6.4 mmol/L) or your post-prandial fasting levels are 140 to 199 mg/dL (7.8 to 11 mmol/L).
A 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) blood sugar level while fasting is considered diabeteswhile a 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) blood sugar level measured 2 hours after eating is at the low end of prediabetes.
A 9.5 mmol/L (226 mg/dL) blood sugar level while fasting is considered high for people with or without diabetes. If you have diabetesthe ADA recommends aiming for the range of 4.4 to 7.2 mmol/L (80 to 160 mg/dL).
According to the ADAa 9.5 mmol/L (226 mg/dL) blood sugar level 1 to 2 hours after eating falls at the upper range of the post-prandial target for people with diabetes.
Maintaining blood sugars (glucose levels) in your target range is a key part of diabetes management.
Age is just one of many factors that might impact your individual goals. Other important factors to consider include your overall healthwhether you have other health conditionsand the time of day you eatamong others.
It’s important to work with your healthcare team on your individual diabetes management plan and what target goals might be best for youno matter your age.
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