Body mass index and diabetes risk in 57 low- and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of nationally representative individual-level data in 685,616 adults

Publication date: July 17, 2021 DOI: https : //doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00844-8

DESCRIPTION

Although the prevalence of obesity and diabetes is reported to be rising rapidly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), there is little empirical data on these settings of body mass index (BMI) and diabetes, hence the cross-sectional study that was investigated.

We pooled individual-level data from a nationwide survey across 57 LMIC.

We identified all countries where a WHO Stepped Surveillance Approach (STEPS) survey was conducted during the year in which the country was classified in an eligible World Bank income group category.

From the survey results, the pooled dataset from 58 nationally representative surveys in 57 LMICs shall include 685616 individuals. The overall prevalence of overweight was 27.2%, the prevalence of obesity was 21.0%, and the prevalence of diabetes was 9.3%.

Pooled analysis showed that the risk of diabetes was higher at a BMI of 23 kg/m2 or higher, with a 43% higher risk of diabetes in men and a 41% higher risk in women compared to a BMI of 18.5.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the risk of diabetes was also sharply increased in individuals aged 35-44 years and in men aged 25-34 years, and stratified analysis showed considerable regional variation in this association.

The optimal BMI threshold for diabetes would be in the range of 23.8 kg/m, with screening2 up to 28.3 kg/m, among men in East, South, and Southeast Asia,2 in the Middle East and North Africa, and among women in Latin America and the Caribbean.3 This is stated as such.