Adolescent Obesity and Type Two Diabetes in Young Adults in the Minority Muslim Bedouin Population in Southern Israel

Minority populations suffer from adolescent obesity at increasing rates and develop diabetes type 2 at a younger age. To assess the prevalence of adolescent obesity in the minority Bedouin population of Israel and its association with obesity and diabetes type 2 during young adulthood. A retrospective cohort study, based on computerized medical records. The study cohort was comprised of Bedouin adolescents, born in 1988–1990, who had BMI measurements at ages 14–19 years in their medical records (N = 3310). The prevalence of obesity was 17.3% in middle adolescence, and 9.6% in late adolescence. The ORs for obesity in young adulthood were 30.1 (95% CI 19.1–49.3) and 40.9 (95% CI 25.7–69.1) for the middle and late adolescent groups, respectively. The incidence of diabetes type 2 per 10⁵ person-years was 494.88 (95% CI 263.55–846.27) vs. 23.06 (95% CI 4.76–67.40) and 446.93 (95% CI 223.11–79 9.68) vs. 113.13 (95% CI 74.55–164.59) among adolescents with and without obesity in the middle and late adolescence groups, respectively. Interventions are needed to reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity in the vulnerable Muslim Bedouin population in southern Israel.