The Blubber

“The numbers are staggering. By 2050, we’re looking at 1.3 billion people globally living with diabetes, and nearly three times that number with pre-diabetes,” said Noosheen Hashemi, founder and CEO of January AI, a company using artificial intelligence to deliver personalized insights on nutrition and blood sugar levels. “That means over 5 billion people—half the world’s population—will be insulin resistant.”

Still, Hashemi emphasized a hopeful outlook: “The good news is, we already have the tools we need to move toward a metabolically healthy world.” She highlighted how AI-powered technology now enables people to estimate the nutritional content of food—like protein, fiber, and carbs—and predict how their blood sugar will respond, simply by snapping a photo.

Olfat Berro, Middle East Area Head at Roche Pharmaceuticals, added that AI’s potential extends even further. “In the future, with genomic profiling and AI-driven predictions, we’ll be able to diagnose—and even prevent—more diseases linked to diabetes,” she said. “We’re already seeing the broader impact of this epidemic, such as vision problems. A key question is: how can we use technology to detect subtle changes in the eye and predict potential diseases early enough to intervene?”

To develop its app—which doesn’t require a physical glucose monitor—January AI used data from a study involving 1,022 people of diverse backgrounds. This dataset helped build a powerful prediction engine. According to Hashemi, integrating a person’s genomic data, lifestyle habits, and health metrics makes it possible for AI to “predict the future of your health.”

Leah Cotterill, CEO of Cigna Healthcare for the Middle East and Africa (excluding Saudi Arabia), said AI’s role could be vital in preventing the projected rise in diabetes and pre-diabetes. “With the right education, advanced AI tools, and pharmaceutical solutions, we can flatten that curve instead of letting it climb so dramatically,” she said.