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Diabetes explosion feared as expats pile on calories

Figures show 19–25 per cent of the UAE nationals or one in four of all residents are diabetic and 35 per cent of the UAE population is at risk.

The risk is that of becoming diabetic in the next 10 years.‘Calorie intoxication’ among expatriates in the UAE is leading to a diabetes explosion, a preliminary ongoing study carried out on 3,000 people has found.

The initial results of the first phase of the UAE National Diabetes and Lifestyle Survey, said to be the largest ever study being undertaken in the UAE, were revealed to Khaleej Times recently.

The second phase of the two-year long study will start next month and will include 3,500 Emiratis from Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

“Judging from the initial results, we can say that despite the poor lifestyle adopted by expatriates in the UAE, locals with diabetes could be a number higher than the expats,” said head of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Sharjah Dr Nabil Sulaiman. He is also heading the research team for the study that also involves the Ministry of Health.

“The study is a huge development and is expected to alter currently published mall figures,” he added.

“In about four years of moving to the UAE, people have started adapting to the lifestyle here which we know is sedentary, hence the huge number of diabetic population,” he said.

“We start eating more than we need, hence the ‘calorie intoxication’ and we exercise less.”

The study questioned 3,000 people who visited the ministry’s preventive department for visa renewals. The participants were also tested for their weight, BMI, neck circumference, blood pressure, sleep apnea, blood sugar and lipids. People were also asked questions on their lifestyle and eating habits.

“We want to know how much time is spent in front of the TV, what their jobs are and how stressed they are since these factors lead to disease,” said Dr Nabil.

Present figures show 19–25 per cent of the UAE nationals or one in four of all residents are diabetic. Authorities also say that 35 per cent of the UAE population is at risk of becoming diabetic in the next 10 years.

Estimates provided by the health ministry show that 1,080 people died in 2008 due to diabetes-related problems, while the direct annual spending on the disease was Dh100–200 million.

However, recently the UAE has dropped from the number two position to number 14 in regards to the highest diabetic population in the world.

“This is not because we have improved,” argued CEO of Dubai Hospital and consultant diabetologist and endocrinologist Dr Abdul Razzaq Al Madani.

“But because other countries have done studies for the first time and made it to the list.”

Another Dubai Health Authority study done in government organisations in 2011-2012 found that 71 per cent of government employees were overweight.

“Of these, 27 per cent had blood sugar and 20 per cent were at risk of developing it since they were overweight,” explained Dr Al Madani.

The study included 3,836 employees from 34 government organisations of which 72 per cent were expatriates and 28 per cent UAE nationals. -asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com