Prevalence of Obesity in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Yemen

Background: obesity is common in type 2 diabetic patients in some of the middle eastern countries, which are amongst the countries with highest rates of diabetes mellitus and obesity. objectives: we conducted this study to assess the prevalence of obesity in yemeni patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. patients and methods: body mass index (bmi) of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were 25 -years-old or older was measured during their first visit to an endocrinology and diabetes clinic in sana’a, yemen over a 4-year period from may 2007 to may 2011. results: the bmi was measured in 1640 patients (721 males and 919 females) who attended the clinic. according to the measured bmi, 328 (45.5%), 314 (43.5%), 79 (11%) of the male patients were non-obese (bmi < 25 kg/m2), overweight (bmi 25-29.9 kg/m2), and obese (bmi ≥ 30 kg/m2), respectively. on the other hand, 256 (28%), 369 (40.0%), and 294 (32%) of the female patients were non-obese (bmi < 25 kg/m2), overweight (bmi 25-29.9 kg/m2), and obese (bmi ≥ 30 kg/m2), respectively. conclusions: the prevalence of obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in yemen is high with respect to the yemeni population, especially in females.