Prevalence and factors associated with underweight, overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in India

Abstract

Introduction Although the prevalence of underweight is declining among Indian women, the prevalence of overweight/obesity is increasing. This study examined the prevalence and factors associated with underweight and overweight/obesity among reproductive-aged (i.e., 15–49 years) women in India. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 2015–16 National Family Health Survey. The Asian and World Health Organization (WHO) recommended cutoffs for body mass index (BMI) were used to categorize body weight. The Asian and WHO BMI cutoffs for combined overweight/obesity were ≥ 23 and ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , respectively. Both recommendations had the same cutoff for underweight, < 18.5 kg/m 2 . After prevalence estimation, logistic regression was applied to investigate associated factors. Results Among 647,168 women, the median age and BMI was 30 years and 21.0 kg/m 2 , respectively. Based on the Asian cutoffs, the overall prevalence of underweight was 22.9%, overweight was 22.6%, and obesity was 10.7%, compared to 15.5% overweight and 5.1% obesity as per WHO cutoffs. The prevalence and odds of underweight were higher among young, nulliparous, contraceptive non-user, never-married, Hindu, backward castes, less educated, less wealthy, and rural women. According to both cutoffs, women who were older, ever-pregnant, ever-married, Muslims, castes other than backwards, highly educated, wealthy, and living in urban regions had higher prevalence and odds of overweight/obesity. Conclusion The prevalence of both non-normal weight categories (i.e., underweight and overweight/obesity) was high. A large proportion of women are possibly at higher risks of cardiovascular and reproductive adverse events due to these double nutrition burdens. Implementing large-scale interventions based on these results is essential to address these issues. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s41256-019-0117-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Education and prevalence of overweight and obesity among reproductive age group women in Ethiopia: analysis of the 2016 Ethiopian demographic and health survey data

“…Besides, from the total participants who are overweight and obese, majority, 83.3% were urban dwellers and the remaining 16.7% were rural dwellers. This finding is in line with the Malawi and Indian studies that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher among women living in urban areas as compared to their counter parts [26,27]. Consistent finding has been also reported in other low and middle-income countries [36][37][38].…”

“…This difference might be due to differences in sociodemographic and socioeconomic status of the people in these regions. For example, unlike Tigray region which contains both urban and rural residents, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa are urban and people living in urban areas are at increased risk of being overweight and obese as evidenced in this and other previous studies [26,27,52,53].…”

“…It is also lower than a study in India which had shown that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among reproductive age group women was 22.6 and 10.7% respectively [27]. This variation may emanate from differences in developmental level of the two countries, because, majority of the associated factors with overweight and obesity are the result of demogtaphic and socioeconomic transitions across countries [32].…”

Change in nutritional status among women of childbearing age in India (1998–2016)

“…NFHS started in the early 1990s and has become a crucial source of data on population, health and nutrition in the coun- Detailed versions of sampling procedure are available through the NFHS reports 22 and previous publications. 15,17,23…”

“…[12][13][14] There has been a growing volume of epidemiological studies exploring the root causes overnutrition in India. [15][16][17] The findings indicate that the shift from undernutrition to overnutrition is mostly attributable to the demographic transition involving population ageing, rapid urbanization and socioeconomic transition that is triggering changes in lifestyle behaviour and dietary patterns. This epidemiological shift, also known as nutrition transition, is a phenomenon that involves the coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition, which is commonly referred to as the double burden of malnutrition.…”