Obesity among diabetic and hypertensive patients in Aseer region, Saudi Arabia

Context: Saudi Arabians suffer from overweight and obesity, which contribute significantly to the poor control of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN). Aim: To assess the effect of overweight and obesity on diabetes and HTN control in Aseer region, KSA. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted by the end of the year 2010. All medical records were assessed by trained doctors and nurses working in the Chronic Disease Clinic at each primary health care center (PHCC) using a check list derived from the quality assurance manual of PHC. The Chronic Disease Services were based on the recommendation of the relevant guidelines. Data entry and analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. P-values less than 0.05 were selected for statistical significance. Results: The prevalence of obesity among diabetics and hypertensive patients was 46% and 54%, respectively. The diabetic patients with good control comprised 21% of the study population, while less than one-third of the patients had fair diabetic control and about half of the diabetics had poor diabetic control. About more than one-third of patients had good control of HTN and less than one-third suffered from overweight and more than half had obesity. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that most of DM and HTN patients in PHCCs, Aseer Region, KSA, suffered from overweight and obesity, which contribute significantly to the poor control of DM and HTN.