DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i03.101

Pages: 1534-1538

India is undergoing rapid epidemiological transition with increased urbanization and socio-economic development. It has resulted in a dramatic change in lifestyles that consist of low physical activity, fat-rich diet, sugar and salt coupled with higher mental stress leading to the increased incidence diseases like type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM), hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity and ischemic heart diseases. The association between these conditions is so close that many experts have considered that obesity and type 2 DM to be different ends of the same spectrum. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of BMI, and WC in predicting high levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG). The study was conducted in the Department of Physiology, GSL Medical College, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. A total of 77 medical students aged between 18 and 22 years participated. The subjects were divided into three groups based on BMI as control group, overweight group and obese group and designated as Group I, group IIa and group IIb respectively. BMI and WC were determined using standard equipments. FBG was measured by glucose oxidase-peroxidase method using reagent kits. Correlations between the anthropometric parameters and FBG were estimated by the Pearson’s correlation coefficient method. FBG levels in overweight (85.12 ± 9.52) and obese group (87.6 ± 8.66) were significantly higher than control group (80.95 ± 5.87). The results of the present study revealed that FBG was highly significantly positively correlated (r=0.399, p<0.01) with BMI and significantly positively correlated with WC (r=0.293, p<0.05). We have therefore shown in the present study that the best anthropometric predictor of FBG and thus metabolic status in young adults is the BMI.