RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The significant increase in the prevalence of obesity over past decades caused the concomitant rise in the incidence of glucose intolerance and diabetes. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of diabetes among Saudi nationals in Turaif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to examine the association between diabetes and obesity in the studied population. METHODS: This study was conducted during the period from May 01 to May 31, 2017. Data was collected from 402 individuals aged between 6-63 years via a predesigned questionnaire covering medical history of diabetes, age and sex. Body weight and height was measured to calculate BMI. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 15, using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test. RESULTS: Mean age (± SD) was 23.27 (±13.509) years, male to female ratio was 38.1% to 61.9%. The total prevalence of DM among the studied population was 4.5%, pre-diabetic cases were 7.5%. There is significant effect of age, sex and BMI on the occurrence of diabetes among the studied population (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Awareness campaigns and prevention programs about diabetes should be instituted and control strategies should be implemented. There is a need for a diabetes screening and management programs, focusing on access to health care in the city.