Prevalence of obesity in a Canarian community. Association with type 2 diabetes mellitus: the Guía Study

Objective We sought to estimate the prevalence of obesity and central obesity, and their association with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Canarian community of Guía.Design and setting Population-based study.Subjects A random sample of 691 subjects over 30 y old (stratified by age and sex) was studied. DATA AND MEASURES: Age, sex, family history of diabetes and medication use were obtained, height, weight and waist circumference were measured and standard oral glucose tolerance tests were performedResults The prevalences of obesity/central obesity were 36.5%/66.5% (women) and 23.6%/32.0% (men). The prevalence of diabetes was 21.0% (women) and 18.4% (men). These rank among the highest in Europe. Bivariate analyses show a strong association of both obesity and central obesity with diabetes mellitus (PConclusion The prevalences of obesity, central obesity and diabetes in our community are extremely high, and central obesity is a better predictor of diabetes than obesity.