Kuwait has the seventh highest rate of diabetes worldwide, announced endocrine gland and diabetes specialist at Mubarak Hospital and fellow of the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University , Dr Waleed Al-Dhahei. He also warned diabetic citizens not to be fooled by the claims of some German medical centers to be able to cure diabetes in exchange for KD 9,000, reported Al-Watan.

Al-Dhahei stressed that many patients often resort to going to such medical centers and return with no changes. He added that the European Union warned against dealing with such centers, which have been seen advertising in Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) states to attract more diabetic patients.

Meanwhile, Al-Dhahei said that there is much hope for diabetics today with new medical advancements in treating the disease, such as new medicines and technologies that have emerged from the use of stem cells. "The future still holds very good news for diabetics," he said, asking the Dasman Diabetes Center to reconsider their treatment policies in order to live up to the purpose of its founding by the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.

Furthermore, Al-Dhahei warned that the rate of diabetes was growing worldwide at an alarming rate. He said that school curriculums should include special chapters to help increase the public's awareness about the disease. "In Kuwait one sixth of the population is diabetic," he pointed out, adding that the real threat of the disease lies in not detecting it in children.

This problem can be fought by integrating knowledge about diabetes in school curriculums, holding special school competitions on the topic over the next coming years, having more Ministry of Health control over school meals and banning fast food," he stressed.

The doctor noted that 70 percent of Kuwait's population is obese, 80 percent of them have unhealthy diets and that 60 percent of them do not practice any sport. "People must play more sports, reduce their amount of smoking and be subject to early detection and diagnosis programs. Special surveys need to be conducted and medical teams must be trained on the latest strategies to fight against this disease,' he advised. - Kuwait Times