The current increase in the rate of type 2 diabetes is quite
alarming. During the past three decades, the prevalence of this
disease in the middle-aged has almost doubled [1]. According to
reports by the World Health Organization, approximately 170
million people worldwide have diabetes and this figure is
expected to reach to 366 million by 2030 [2]. A similar trend in
the increase of type 2 diabetes has been observed in the Gulf
region, especially in Kuwait [3,4].
The risk of diabetes is strongly associated with obesity, and
even a modest weight loss has been reported to substantially
decrease the diabetic risk. According to statistics from the US
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 55% of diabetic
patients are obese and 85% are overweight [5]. In several previous