Official statistics of the Ministry of Health have recently revealed that 13.4 percent Saudis are affected by diabetes, a sharp drop from the figure of 30 percent quoted earlier.

Director of the Maternity & Children’s Hospital in Dammam Saleh Al-Salouk warned against the risks of an unhealthy lifestyle and poor eating habits which had contributed to the rising number of diabetes patients in the Kingdom including children.

Al-Salouk was speaking during a training course to educate diabetic patients about the risks of the condition, its prevention and treatment. He said that such courses, seminars and lectures will help in raising awareness of diabetes and enable patients to keep it under control.

The coordinator of the course and supervisor of the training program for health education Nadia Al-Jashi said the course is only the first of a series of courses that aim to boost and spread the culture of health education.