Prevalence of overweight and obesity among diabetic patients at ELmarj Diabetic Center

Abstract

Obesity represents one of the primary causes of preventable deaths. In 2014, an estimated 1.9 billion adults considered overweight and more than 600 million were obese, translating to 13% of the worldwide adult population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among diabetic patients who are attending diabetes clinics at EL-Marj Diabetic Center. A descriptive cross-sectional study was used. Overweight and obesity among diabetic patients attending Diabetic Center at EL-Marj City were included. Data were collected using questionnaires that designed for matching the study needs among the study population. A total of 270 type 2 diabetic patients participated in this study, 43% of diabetic patients in this study were in ages 40-59 years and 58% were female. One hundred overweight and obese diabetic patients were included. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 29% and 8.3% respectively and the overall prevalence of both overweight and obesity was 37.03%. This study revealed high prevalence of overweight among study participants. It was found that family history of overweight and obesity, physical inactivity and residence area were associated with it. Therefore, all stakeholders who are involved in the management of diabetes should be aware of this situation and should take appropriate interventions to tackle this problem.