Effect of total and central adiposity on the blood glucose level of Gujarati Indian adolescents

Abstract

Background: There is an emerging epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) among children and adolescents due to increased prevalence of obesity. Indians have a genetic phenotype characterized by low body mass index (BMI), high upper body adiposity, and high body fat percentage (BF%) leading to an increased prevalence of metabolic perturbations and DM. Aims & Objective: To determine the effect of body fat mass on the blood glucose level of Gujarati Indian adolescents during early, middle, and late adolescence. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 468 Gujarati Indian adolescents of age group 13–20 years. Adiposity was assessed using BMI, BF%, fat mass, fat mass index (FMI), and waist circumference (WC). The blood glucose level was measured in the fasting state. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was determined to assess the correlation of adiposity markers with fasting blood glucose level. Results: During early adolescence, in boys, BF% and FMI and in girls, BMI has the strongest positive correlation with fasting blood sugar (FBS), whereas during late adolescence WC shows the strongest significant positive correlation as compared to other parameters in both genders. Conclusion: This study indicates that central adiposity influences the blood glucose level more strongly than total adiposity in late adolescent phase in Gujarati Indian adolescents.