Prevalence of Obesity among Type-2 Diabetics

As per first law of thermodynamics, obesity results from an imbalance between energy expenditure and energy intake. There is an intimate relationship between obesity and diabetes mellitus. It was observed that diabetes incidence rise with increasing BMI (Body Mass Index). The prevalence of diabetes is 2.9 times higher in overweight than in normal weight subjects of 20 to 70 years of age. Along with BMI, individuals with upper body obesity or adiposity are at high risk for hyperinsulinaemia, insulin resistance and diabetes. This study was therefore, planned to evaluate the prevalence of obesity in type-2 diabetic subjects. A total of 60 type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects (27 males and 33 females) were recruited from the outpatients diabetic clinic of P.B.M. Hospital, Bikaner, Rajasthan. Obesity and overweight was assessed by BMI categories Abdominal adiposity was determined by waist hip ratio, which is specific for sex. The results revealed that study group was overweight/obese (BMI>25kg/m). Further mean waist hip ratio of male and female patients was 1.0±0.01 and 0.96±0.07 respectively, which indicate that subjects had abdominal obesity. Results indicate that nearly all the female patients (84.84%) had abdominal obesity, where as only 15.15 percent were normal as per the WHR indicator. In case of male patients 40.70 percent of the patients had abdominal obesity. These results clearly indicate that the overweight/obesity persist in type 2 diabetic patients, which is more identical by abdominal obesity thus it can be used as a major indicator in assessing diabetes.