Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in Gangadikara Vokkaligas of Mysore, Karnataka

ABSTRACT The present paper discusses prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and obesity among GangadikaraVokkaligas of Mysore. Data was collected from 1318 subjects comprising 569 males and749 females, by well trained investigators using standardized protocols, such as medicalhistory, demographics, phenotypic and genotypic information including anthropometricmeasurements. Prevalence of diabetes, among the Gangadikara Vokkaliga of Mysore,is very high (27.5 %) compared to coastal Karnataka (16%) and Chennai populations(15.5%). It is observed that both male and female diabetics have more body weightcompared to non-diabetics, though they are under medication and diet restrictions.However, female diabetics are more obese compared to male diabetics. The frequencyof obesity among Gangadikara Vokkaliga of Mysore (24%) is lower than in coastalKarnataka population (28%). INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus is a complex multi factorial metabolic disorder caused by bothenvironmental and genetic factors. The incidence of Type 2 Diabetes is increasing globallyfrom 2.8 per cent in 2000 to 4.4 per cent in 2030 as per World Health Organization (Wildet al, 2004). The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in Asian Indians ranges from 2.7 percent in rural India to 14 per cent in urban India. India has the highest number of diabetes