More than one million UAE residents are suffering from diabetes despite better health services and better awareness, Dr Abdul Razzaq Al Madani, chairman of the Emirates Diabetes Association told a diabetes congress.

Dr Razzaq said an equally high number of people are pre-diabetic, a condition where the blood sugar level is high, but not high enough and that they could turn diabetic over a period of time.

The speaker told 700 delegates the situation is grim and the five Gulf States – UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman – and that they will remain in the list of top 10 countries whose population is highly diabetic, even two decades from now.

The Congress was opened by Dr Salem Al Darmaki, the new Acting Director general of the Ministry of Health. He said the UAE has declared 2009 as the year to fight diabetes, noting the serious of the disease and its complications.

Experts have warned the disease, which leaves you initially fatigued and dehydrated, is spreading like a pandemic in the middle classes around the globe due to changes in lifestyle and sedentary jobs.

It is encouraging to know that UAE has declared 2009 as the year to fight diabetes. However, it would be better to find out what measures UAE is taking to prevent the spread of the diabetes and encourage residents to switch to healthier lifestyle.