There is bitter-sweet irony that we recently broke the record for the highest number of people tested for their blood sugar level.

Nearly 9,000 people gathered at the Dubai Mall over the weekend to find out whether they were healthy and 40 nursing stations collected blood samples from shoppers over an eight-hour period.

Dubai’s efforts entered the Guinness World Records. The last time such large letting of blood was done was by the Turkish Diabetes Foundation, which had screened more than 7,000 people in eight hours, two years ago in Istanbul. Such an initiative to educate people is commendable as the UAE ranks among the top five countries with the most number of diabetics.

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 20 per cent of the adult population in the UAE is diabetic. That means there are nearly two million people in the country suffering from this disease.

The only other nation that has more diabetics than the UAE is a tiny island of Nauru in the South Pacific. It is tiny, but its inhabitants are huge, most of whom weigh about 100 kilos.

A correspondent with the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun describes the scene: “On a drive around Nauru, one will pass by a succession of huge gentlemen, their motorbikes straining under their immense loads. As daytime temperatures soar to around 40 degrees Celsius, humongous ladies lie under the shade of the trees. The very act of movement seems a Herculean task for these women.”

Obesity seems to be the main reason why this island has a large number of diabetics.

Nauru became wealthy after phosphates were mined, making the citizens very rich and they did not need to work. The island’s eating habits changed completely from eating fish and fruits to eating imported western foodstuffs, says the island’s health minister.

The chief of the Dubai Diabetes Centre says the condition is a sure-fire risk factor for heart disease and people should be aware of the ways to prevent becoming diabetic. I didn’t know that I was pre-diabetic until I took a medical test. A pre-diabetic means that I am a borderline case and that if I do not change my lifestyle, I will surely go over to the other side of the fence and suffer the consequences.

My doctor looked at the numbers and asked me to start doing certain things immediately; things such as not eating fried stuff and sweets. “Start exercising every day for 30 minutes,” he said.

It is not fair that I have to change my lifestyle. I am not overweight or obese though I do enjoy my plastic tray of hamburgers and fries for lunch. I can give that up, but it is impossible to find healthy and cheap alternatives.

I tried eating a healthy pizza the other day and it tasted like cardboard. The doctor said it will take time for my taste buds to adapt and enjoy tasteless, healthy food.

“Eat more fibre,” he said, and I imagined myself chewing on some flavour-rich textile.

To add insult to injury, I have to exercise. I asked my doctor if 10 minutes every third day would do and he gave me a strange look.

I am not one of those types that gets up early in the morning and starts touching his toes. A health website said that aerobic exercise is good for preventing pre-diabetes from becoming full-blown Type 2 diabetes. (Even the name of the disease seems frightening).

I found a website that sells herbs that can help reduce my pre-diabetic state without having to do any silly exercise or eating fibre-rich food.

However, my doctor insists that there are no shortcuts. If I have to live healthy, I have to first suffer, he said.