Prevalence of Obesity among Type 2 Diabetic Patients: Non-Smokers Housewives Are the Most Affected in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Objective: To identify the high risk group for developing obesity among a cohort of Saudi diabetic patients. Methods: A cross sectional study on a random sample of known type 2 diabetic patients who were visiting seven primary health care centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was conducted. Participants were categorized according to their Body Mass Index BMI into 4 groups. Prevalence of obesity was correlated to patients’ gender, age, smoking, educational level and employment status to identify the significant ones. Results: A total of 723 diabetics were included. Males to females’ ratio were almost equal (50.8% and 49.2% respectively). The mean BMI of group was 29.3 ± 6.1. Only (21.9%) of the studied diabetics were in their ideal range of body weight. The remaining was almost equally categorized as overweight or obese. More than one third (38.3%) were obese; among the obese: 22.4% had mild obesity, and 15.9% severe obesity. Percentage of severely obese females were almost triple that of males. The housewives were the least to have normal BMI ratio (15.2%). According to the calculated BMI it is found that being a non-smoker housewife is the significant predicting factor for being obese p < 0.05. Conclusion: Prevention and educational programs should target non-smokers housewives Saudi diabetic patients who are at higher risk for developing obesity.