Mutebi Edrisa*, Birabwa Sserwanga Esther , Nakwagala Fredrick, Muddu Martin, Bagasha Peace, Agaba Gideon, Kiggundu Daniel
Background: Diabetes and obesity are considered a global epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) due to their increasing prevalence. Obesity is common in Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) as a comorbid condition often termed as "Diabesity". Approximately 60-90% patients with T2D are overweight or obese. WHO projects 300 million people will suffer from diabetes by 2025, most of which can be attributed to obesity. There is limited data about diabesity at the study area. Therefore, our study aimed at studying the prevalence and factors associated with obesity in the study area. Methods: A facility based cross-sectional study was undertaken between August and November 2018 involving adults aged ≥ 18 years at the Diabetes outpatient clinic of Mulago National Referral Hospital. Data were collected about the participants’ sociodemographic and other characteristics by individual face to face interviews by trained study staff using a predesigned questionnaire. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated and classified into 3 groups: 18.5-24.9, 25.0-29.9, ≥ 30.0 as normal weight, overweight respectively following the WHO standard. Results: A total of 319 patients participated in this study: 66.46% of them were female, the mean age and age range in years was 51.1 and 20 to 77 years respectively. Obesity was prevalent in 24.45% and 15.67% had central obesity; by BMI classification 41.69%, 33.86% and 24.45% were normal weight, overweight, and obese respectively. In the multivariate regression, gender (p=0.004), age (p<0.001), DBP (p=0.003), SBP(p=0.023), family history of DM (p=0.004) and HT p=0.006), known hypertension status (p<0.001) were the risk factors significantly associated with obesity. Conclusion: Obesity is prevalent in this study population. Among the factors associated with obesity in our study, blood pressure is the only modifiable factor. Cardio-metabolic complications in patients with obesity, diabetes and hypertension are preventable through the reduction of blood pressure.
