Evidence for recent increases in obesity and non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus in a Navajo community

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Abstract
Historic and current biomedical data were used to quantify changes in obesity and non‐insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) over a 30 year period in a Navajo community. Medical charts from an earlier study (1955–1961) provided data on 827 adults. Field‐based methods yielded data from 231 adults during a health survey in 1988. The adjusted prevalence of overweight (body mass index ≥27.8 males, ≥27.3 females) has increased from 18.9% to 43.7% (P = .0001) and the adjusted prevalence of NIDDM has increased from 1.2%–12.4% (P = .0001) in the community. Current members of the community have twice the risk of being diabetic or overweight than the U.S. general population. The recent and dramatic increases in these health conditions demonstrate the effect of an important environmental component which requires further investigation.