Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the relationship of obesity with diabetes among the general community of Pakistan

Title
Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the relationship of obesity with diabetes among the general community of Pakistan
Publication Date
2024-04-30
Author(s)
Kiran, Arooj
Ali Shah, Naseer
Mulk Khan, Shujaul
Ahmed, Haroon
Kamran, Muhammad
Yousafzai, Beenish Khan
Ahmad, Zeeshan
Yoo, Sunghoon
Han, Heesup
Alasqah, Ibrahim
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0316-1374
Email: ialasqa2@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:ialasqa2
Raposo, António
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
Place of publication
United Kingdom
DOI
10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29081
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/74975
Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the influence of knowledge, attitude, and practices assessment on diabetes related to obesity in Pakistani society. Data was collected both through door to door and online survey approaches from 518 participants by using a pre-validated questionnaire. A total of 15.6% were underweight, 61.2% were normal weight, 17.2% were overweight and 5.8% were in obesity class I and 2.9% were classified as obesity class II. The co-occurrence of obesity and diabetes was 29% (n = 22) among diabetic individuals (n = 84). A majority of the residents (59.1%) were from cities. While 94% of the participants responded to what obesity was, 83.8% knew what diabetes was. Fast food, soft drinks, and mayonnaise were deemed to be healthy by 75.1% of the respondents. Obesity was viewed as a disease by 94.8%, a major health issue by 78.2%, and a weight-loss necessity by 44.6% of participants. Only 24.9% exercised every day, and 23.9% engaged in any physical activity daily. The majority of respondents (50.6%) never tried to lose weight and 23.2% ate junk food daily. The sociodemographic variables showed that the age ranges of 25–34 years (P < 0.001; OR 0.531), 45–54 years (P < 0.05; OR 0.527), and urban residency (P < 0.001; OR 0.128) had a significant association with knowledge. The factors of urban residency (P < 0.001; OR 3.996), being unmarried (P < 0.001; OR 1.95), and having an income of 51,000–70,000 (P < 0.001; OR 11.29) showed a very highly significant association with a good attitude regarding the relationship of obesity with diabetes (P < 0.05). Similarly, practices of the participants showed significant association with BMI range of 18.5–24.9 and 25–29.9 (P < 0.001). Our study revealed significant knowledge and understanding of the relationship between obesity with diabetes. However, it was observed that majority of respondents exhibited fundamental knowledge regarding obesity and diabetes, there was a notable absence of understanding regarding crucial elements, such as the significance of maintaining a healthy body weight, participating in physical activity, and implementing appropriate dietary strategies for weight control. We recognize the necessity for education initiatives and strongly encourage them to assist individuals in managing diabetes resulting from obesity.

Link
Citation
Heliyon, 10(8), p. 1-13
ISSN
2405-8440
Start page
1
End page
13
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International

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