Tuwayyim of King Abdul Aziz National Guard Medical City, has said that a lack of exercise, increased mental pressure and a change in eating habits are some of the most prominent causes of the rise of diabetes in the Kingdom. Al-Tuwayyim, who heads the department of Glandular Illness and Child Diabetes, was speaking in the light of a recent report that stated that one quarter of Saudis over the age of 30 suffer from diabetes, and which blamed the figure on a “change in lifestyle and rise in average age”. Al-Tuwayyim highlighted the “global issue” of obesity. “Over 300 million people suffer from obesity. It's one of the main causes of type 2 diabetes,” he said. “The most recent statistics show that 80 percent of persons with diabetes suffer from obesity.” The National Guard Health Affairs launched Sunday its annual diabetes awareness campaign. The five-day event marking last month's World Diabetes Day includes a conference that will seek, organizers say, to “unite the efforts of all doctors whose work involves in any way the treatment of diabetes”.
