Pon. Anitha, Renuka Devi MR, Sai Kumar P
Department of Physiology, Sree Balaji Medical College & Hospital, Chromepet, Chennai

Abstract

• Background: The majority of Indians live in rural areas. Weaving, which is a leading occupation among the rural South Indian families involves a predominantly sedentary nature of work. There is a dearth of studies on diabetes mellitus among weavers in the rural areas of South India.
• Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and blood glucose levels of a selected diabetic weaving population in Tamil Nadu, South India.
• Materials and Methods: Sixty type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, both males and females, in the age group of 30 to 50 years were randomly selected from a weaving sector, in a rural area of Tamil Nadu, South India. Anthropometric measurements were done, and fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels were obtained. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was determined to find the relationship between body mass index and blood glucose levels.
• Results: We found a very weak negative correlation between body mass index (BMI) and fasting blood glucose levels (r = -0.13, p = 0.35, n = 60) and between BMI and postprandial blood glucose levels (r = -0.10, p = 0.48, n = 60) which was not statistically significant.
• Conclusion: This study done to determine the correlation between body mass index and blood glucose levels in a diabetic weaving population revealed a very weak negative correlation which was statistically not significant. There was an increase in blood glucose levels in people with normal BMI also, emphasizing the need for regular health checkups in rural weaving sectors.

Keywords: body mass index, blood glucose, diabetes mellitus, weavers