People turned up with their children who enjoyed the walk with their faces painted and got photographed with enchanting clowns.

The UAE has the second highest prevalence of diabetes in the world at 19.5 per cent. It is estimated that 25 per cent of the UAE’s national population is living with diabetes, according to Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) in the capital.

‘Walk UAE’, now in its third year, is part of the public health awareness campaign, ‘Diabetes Knowledge Action’, organised by ICLDC, under the patronage of Shaikha Fatima bint Mubarak, in partnership with Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy.

Dr Maha Taysir Barakat, medical and research director and consultant endocrinologist at ICLDC, said detection of pre-diabetes condition can lead to the prevention of the disease, and with the implementation of lifestyle changes, people can greatly reduce the risk of related complications, including blindness, heart attack and stroke.

In the Gulf region alone, 3.5 million of the approximately 33 million population suffer from diabetes, she said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes and this number is likely to be more than double by 2030. Sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are cited as the main reasons for the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the UAE, Dr Barakat said.

Diabetes has higher prevalence among UAE nationals than people of other nationalities in the country, suggesting that there may be a genetic predisposition, she said.

However, an increased prevalence of diabetes among expatriates in the region as opposed to in their countries of origin indicates that genes are not the only factor at play.

Tendencies towards lifestyle, weight gain, an imbalanced diet high in fat and sugar and lack of exercise seem to be the major contributors to the development of diabetes.

Dr Barakat said walking for 30 minutes a day is proven to help combat the onset of diabetes, and indeed to manage the disease. She called for regular exercise and warned that slim people are not exempt from developing diabetes.

“There is a simple, smart solution to preventing and managing diabetes and this is to eat healthily and exercise. Regular exercise can lower the risk of developing diabetes by 58 per cent,” she said.

Just before the walkathon started, Ghadir Ayman of Abu Dhabi said, “I am going to run to spread awareness among people. In my family, my cousin is suffering from diabetes, so I can understand how diabetic people suffer.”

Kavin Ramsay said, “I intended to make people aware about the severity of the disease. Simple exercise can reduce the risk. People need to adopt healthy lifestyle with nutritious food.”

Qurratelain Kamal from Sudan said, “It feels very good to take part in it (walkathon).”

anwar@khaleejtimes.com