Prevalence and Correlates of Underweight among Women of Reproductive Age in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kritika Rana, Ritesh Chimoriya, Nabila Binte Haque, Milan K. Piya, Romila Chimoriya, Michael Ekholuenetale and Amit Arora ()
Additional contact information
Kritika Rana: Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
Ritesh Chimoriya: Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
Nabila Binte Haque: Department of Health Systems and Populations, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Milan K. Piya: Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
Romila Chimoriya: Philanthropy Nepal (Paropakari Nepal) Research Collaboration, Auburn, NSW 2144, Australia
Michael Ekholuenetale: Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan 200214, Nigeria
Amit Arora: Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of underweight and determine the sociodemographic and household environmental correlates of underweight among women of reproductive age in Nepal. This study also compared the time trends in the prevalence of underweight with the trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. This cross-sectional study was a secondary data analysis of the nationally representative population-based Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHSs). Firstly, the time trends of the prevalence of underweight (body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m 2 ) among women aged 15–49 years were examined at five-year intervals, from the 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 NDHSs ( n = 33,507). Secondly, the sociodemographic and household environmental correlates of underweight were examined from the latest NDHS 2016 ( n = 6165). Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the sociodemographic and household environmental correlates of underweight. From 1996 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased from 25.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) 23.8%, 26.8%) to 16.9% (95%CI 16.0%, 17.8%), while the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased from 1.6% (95%CI 1.2%, 2.1%) to 15.6% (95%CI 14.7%, 16.5%) and 0.2% (95%CI 0.1%, 0.4%) to 4.1% (95%CI 3.6%, 4.6%), respectively. Sociodemographic factors, such as age, educational status, marital status, wealth index, and religion, were independently associated with the risk of underweight. Similarly, household environmental factors, such as province of residence, ecological zone, type of toilet facility, and household possessions, including television and mobile phone, were independently associated with the risk of underweight. Despite the declining trends, the prevalence of underweight among Nepalese women remains a public health challenge. Understanding the key sociodemographic and household environmental correlates of underweight may assist in streamlining the content of health promotion campaigns to address undernutrition and potentially mitigate adverse health outcomes.

Keywords: underweight; undernutrition; women; Nepal; BMI; sociodemographic and household environmental correlates; sustainable development goals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11737/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11737/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:18:p:11737-:d:917553

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().