Objective: To determine the contribution of excess weight to prevalent diabetes based on data from a representative Canadian population.
Methods: This analysis was based on data from 72,627 subjects aged 20-64 years who participated in the Canadian Community Health Survey 2000-2001. Diabetes, body weight and height were self-reported. Stratified analysis and multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to adjust for confounding factors. Population attributable risk (PAR) was calculated.
Results: Approximately half of the respondents were either overweight (33.4%) or obese (15.7%). The prevalence of diabetes was 3.4% for men and 2.9% for women, compared with 7.2% and 9.1% for obese men and women in the study. After adjusting for age, physical activity and income, the multiple logistic regression models showed that the odds ratios for diabetes associated with overweight and obesity were 1.8 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.4-2.2] and 3.6 (95% CI 2.9-4.5), respectively, for men, and 2.0 (95% CI 1.6-2.6) and 5.9 (95% CI 4.7-7.4) for women. The respective PARs were 18.7% and 25.5% for men, and 14.7% and 38.0% for women.
Conclusions: Approximately 50% of diabetes risk is attributable to excess body weight in the Canadian population. This study suggests that control of body weight is the most important priority in diabetes prevention and control.