A Study on the Prevalence of Obesity in Type II Diabetes Mellitus among Female Adults Aged 20-50 Years Attending Abha and Khamis Mushayat Diabetic Centres in Saudi Arabia

Background: A sedentary lifestyle and prevalence of obesity are the key factors which lead to an increasing prevalence of Type II diabetes mellitus. There is strong evidence that modifiable risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity are the main non-genetic determinants of the disease and could be modified. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of obesity (≥ 30 BMI - body mass index) among the selected subjects. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study was adopted. Around 1000 female subjects aged 30-50 years, with Type II diabetes mellitus were selected randomly from Abha and Khamis Mushayat Diabetic care centers. The data were collected by questionnaire which included background information. Other physiological, biochemical and anthropometric parameters were measured using standard procedures. The statistical analysis was done on SPSS 20 platform. Results: The socioeconomic background did not correlate with BMI and other selected anthropometric (waist and hip circumference) and biochemical parameters such as fasting and random blood sugar levels. With regards to the BMI status of the subjects, a majority of the subjects were in Grade I (31.1%) and Grade II (29.8%) obesity ranges indicating high prevalence rate of obesity in the diabetes mellitus subjects. Around 8.6% of the subjects had morbid obesity (≥ 40 BMI). Totally the prevalence of obesity in the present study in type II diabetes mellitus subjects was 69.5%. Conclusion: Stressing on the importance of a balanced low glycemic diet and adequate physical activity through regular counseling of the diabetes subjects, to treat and prevent obesity is the need of the hour.