Obesity and its relationship with glycemic control in type-2 diabetes

Obesity is central to the development of insulin resistance, leading to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, among other serious medical conditions. In patients with type 2 diabetes, the benefits of weight loss include both improved overall glycemic control and cardiovascular disease risk profile. The aim of the present work was to study the pattern of overweight and obesity in type-2 diabetes. The Specific objectives included determination of the prevalence of the overweight and obesity among type-2 diabetes and assessment of their effects on the glycemic control. A cross sectional design was used. The target population was type-2 diabetic patients in Ismailia City, Egypt. The study population was type-2 diabetics attending the family medicine clinic in Ismailia University hospital. The study included 220 type-2 diabetics who were screened for overweight and obesity. The present study illustrates that, only 14.5% of type-2 diabetics had BMI within the normal range, [35% of male patients and 8% of female patients], while 45.9% were overweight; the percentage of overweight male patients was higher [50%] than female patients [45%]. Obesity was found in 39.5% of the patients [15% of the male and 47% of the female patients]. Extreme obesity was detected only in females [18%]. The glycosylated hemoglobin [g%] of overweight [11.5 +/- 2.7] was significantly different from that of the obese patients [13.2 +/- 3.6]. The study demonstrates, also, that fasting blood sugar [mg/dL] of diabetic patients with normal BMI [155.9 +/- 70.5] was significantly different from each of the overweight [227.5 +/- 87.7] and obese diabetics [210.9 +/- 79.9]. Overweight and obesity are highly prevalent in type-2 diabetics. Also increase in the BMI is associated with poor glycemic control. These findings signify life style modifications that are immensely needed to decrease the bodyweight and improve the glycemic control

Parasitic infestation and nutritional status among primary schoolchildren in Ismailia city, Egypt

Intestinal parasitic infection is a major health problem in many developing countries. By far the most common effect on health is a subtle and insidious constraint on normal physical development, resulting in children failing to achieve their genetic potential for growth and having the clinical consequences of iron deficiency anaemia and other nutritional deficiencies. To investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infestation among school-aged children residing in Ismailia city; and to assess the impact of its infestation on nutrition status of those children. A cross sectional design was used. A sample size of >/= 99 was calculated from the target population [24000 children distributed among 43 1ry schools] with an estimated proportion of parasitic infestation to be 47% [from a previous study], 95% confidence coefficient and 10% confidence interval. The dropout rate was considered to be 10%, so the sample size was 110 children. The parasitic infestation was highly prevalent in the study group. Its prevalence was 43%. Regarding the nutrition status, stunting was the most frequent sign [diagnosed in 20% of the study group] followed by underweight [11%] and wasting [7%]. Underweight and stunting were detected more in children who were infested with parasites. Approximately more than one-third of school-children were infested by intestinal parasites. The parasitic infestation seemed to be associated with growth rate pattern among those children. School-based parasite control program and health promotion are needed to eliminate this major public health problem among school children

Impact of obesity on asthmatic children

Bronchial asthma and obesity are prevalent disorders in children and adolescents. The association between asthma and obesity was elucidated in many studies with possible effect of obesity on asthmatic children. The aim of the present study was: Assessment of the effect of obesity on the quality of life and pulmonary function of asthmatic children. This study included 100 asthmatic children and adolescents, 52 of them were obese and 48 were non obese asthmatics. Peak expiratory flow Rate [PEFR] was measured for every participants in the study. All children were exposed to pediatrics asthma quality of life questionnaire [PAQLQ] which included 23 items and divided into 3 domains. The results of the present study showed that the mean score of total PAQLQ in obese group was 5.15 +/- 0.47 and in non obese group it was 5.81 +/- 0.42, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups, When comparing the three domains of PAQLQ between the two groups it was found that the mean of symptoms domain in the obese group was 5.03 +/- 0.48 and in non obese group it was 5.74 +/- 0.50. The mean of physical activity domain in the obese group was 5.34 +/- 0.67 and in non obese group it was 5.88 +/- 0.43. In addition the mean oh emotions domain in obese group was 5.08 +/- 0.86 and in non obese group it was 5.81 +/- 0.60. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in three domains of PAQLQ. There was no statistically significant difference between the obese and non obese asthmatic children regarding PEFR. Obesity affects asthmatic children by decreasing their quality of life, therefore it is recommended to fight obesity as one of the strategies to treat asthma