Ian Campbell is currently delivering a series of lectures on diabetes in major Saudi cities. The prevalence of diabetes has reached an alarming rate of 20 percent of the Saudi population, five times higher than in the UK, Campbell said.

Type 1 diabetes is insulin-dependent and unpreventable. However, Type 2 diabetes is found among 90 percent of sufferers in Saudi Arabia. This happens when a person’s body fails to secrete adequate insulin and it is manageable, he said. Campbell, an Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the Bute School of Medicine at St. Andrews University, was participating in a round table discussion in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Campbell, who has authored several hundred articles and textbooks on the management of diabetes and its complications, had delivered the Arnold Bloom lecture in 2002 entitled “A diabetic odyssey from research to guidelines.” “Saudis are diagnosed with diabetes at an early age of 30, as compared to 40 years elsewhere in the world,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Health has responded positively by organizing various health awareness programs throughout the Kingdom.

“In Jeddah alone, I met 145 educators of diabetes who are involved in the awareness program.” Campbell commended the Saudi government for its efforts to control the growing number of diabetics in the Kingdom. He said the Kingdom has been engaged in a number of related education programs not only for the public, but is also training medics and paramedics on how to deal with the diabetics.

Describing diabetes as a silent killer, he said obesity, lack of physical exercise and a family history of diabetes contribute a great deal to the development of the disease.

He also stressed that family support is imperative for patients who suffer from diabetes. He said diabetes is a friendly disease if properly treated, but becomes dangerous when neglected.