Background: Saudi Health Information Survey reported that diabetes affects 13.2% of the population while 16.3% are borderline, also obesity affects 28.7% of the population. Diabetes has a major impact on health and quality of life. whereas, early control of type 2 diabetes also reduces the risk of mortality. Aim: we aimed to explore the prevalence and the most important determinants of diabetes among a sample of Saudi obese adults and discover the reliability and validity of the CANRISK scale. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 390 obese, adult Saudis attending the 9th Olive Festival in Al-Jouf region, KSA using CANRISK questionnaire and blood sugar testing was carried out. Results: There was statistically significant association between diabetes and participants’ age (p<0.001) and insignificant association for gender, marital status, educational level, monthly income, smoking and healthy habits (p>0.05). The risk of having diabetes was increased 3.7 times for the older age group (64-74 years) in comparison to the younger group with a steady risk increase with advanced age (AOR=3.7, 95% CI 1.5-9.4). The risk of having pre-diabetes or diabetes was high in 72%, moderate in 22.5% and low in only 5.5% of the studied sample. Conclusion: Prevention strategies need to address the differential risks for diabetes among the expected high-risk groups and consider them as targets for clinical and public health action.