Consumption of Sweets as a Risk Factor for Diabetes Mellitus among Adults in Odisha-A Cross-sectional Study

Background and Objectives: India is the diabetic capital of world. Though many have reported prevalence in various states of India, there is paucity of reports from Odisha where a lot of sweets and desserts are produced locally. This research project was designed to screen apparently healthy population using simple measures to diagnose and score risk for diabetes mellitus in different working-class categories of Odisha.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 randomly selected non-diabetic adults (18-50 years) with 50 subjects each in sedentary, moderate and heavy workers group. The Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) was calculated for each subject. The association of diabetes with sweet intake, physical activity and anthropometric measurements were calculated using relative risk ratio individually.

Results: 16% were with high risk and 46% were at a moderate risk among sedentary workers. In moderate workers group, 12% were at high risk and 44% were at moderate risk. Among heavy workers population, there was none in a high-risk category and only 12% were found to have a moderate risk. The relative risks of people consuming sweets with IDRS score >30 (with risk) were 1.25, 1.07 and 0.54 in sedentary, moderate and heavy workers respectively.

Interpretations and Conclusions: The proportion of sweets intake, reduced physical activity and significant family history were associated with diabetic risk. Educating the population about diets having low glycaemic index and incorporating healthy food and exercise as a habit will go a long way in abetting the rising incidence of diabetes.