A Saudi Arabian doctor said on Wednesday that the kingdom's percentage of diabetics was the highest in the Arab World and Europe.
Dr. Abdelaziz Maatoog was quoted by the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA, as saying in a study published in a Saudi daily that 14 percent of the Saudi population suffered from diabetes.
He added that the western provinces led the nation at 16 percent, whereas the northern provinces recorded 13 percent, the eastern provinces 10 percent and the southern provinces three percent.
Dr. Maatoog added that the percentage of diabetics in Kuwait had reached 11.7 percent, in Jordan 10 percent, Oman 9.8 percent, Egypt 9.3 percent, Bahrain 8.9 percent and Sudan 3.4 percent.
He added that the Bema Indians (Native Americans) in Arizona had recorded the highest percentage worldwide, reaching 50 percent of the total population.
He said that by 2010, it was expected that the total number of people in the world with the illness would reach 220 million.
Maatoog said that people in Saudi Arabia suffered from this illness due to unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise – Albawaba.com
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