If someone in your family has diabetes, you are not alone — and that is exactly why this article matters for you specifically.
Where do we stand globally?
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes Atlas, the Middle East and North Africa region records the highest comparative prevalence of diabetes in the world: 18.1% among adults aged 20–79 in 2021[1], with Saudi Arabia among the top ten countries globally[1],[2].
— the world's highest (IDF 2021)
highest globally
change (DPP study)
The news that should reach you: prevention is possible and documented
The most famous clinical trial in diabetes prevention — the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), published in the New England Journal of Medicine — showed that a lifestyle intervention (losing about 7% of body weight with 150 minutes of weekly activity) reduced the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 58% in those at risk, outperforming even preventive medication[3].
What does "7% of your weight" mean?
For someone weighing 95 kg: about 6.5 kg. Not a model's physique — just a modest, sustained calorie deficit. And because consistency matters more than enthusiasm, start by knowing your daily requirement, then monitor your food in a way that doesn't exhaust you.
An important Gulf point
Our social eating pattern — gatherings, banquets, dessert after every meeting — isn't an enemy to be abolished, but a reality to be counted. Awareness of the calories in the local dish (rather than its foreign substitute in translated apps) is the difference between a plan that holds and one that collapses at the first invitation.