Abstract
The aim of this study is to detect the magnitude of bad nutritional habits and assess the strength of association between T2DM and late-night dinner and skipping breakfast in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A case control study was conducted at Diabetic centre and PHC centres. The cases were Early-onset T2DM (30-45 years of age). A self-administered questionnaire consisted of three parts including socio-demographic information, eating behaviors and questions focusing on DM. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 28 statistical package software.
Results: A total 47 cases with diabetes mellitus type 2 and 188 controls were included. Cases were more prone to be obese with median BMI 30.5. Overall, 74.5% of cases were reported to be physically inactive. 72.4% of cases were skipping breakfast weekly as compared to 65% of controls [p-value 0.015]. Smoking, frequency of exercise, BMI and frequency of eating of fast food were found to be significant risk factors for developing T2DM with OR 4.0, 3.6, 5.5 and 2.0 respectively.
Conclusions: Our data confirmed that skipping breakfast and late-night dinner were prevalent, and many risk factors associated with diabetes mellitus have been identified. Therefore, we recommend introducing health education programs to address misconceptions towards prevention and better control of diabetes mellitus.