Rasheda Khanam1, Anne Shee Cc Lee2, Malathi Ram1, M A Quaiyum3, Nazma Begum4, Allysha Choudhury5, Parul Christian6, Luke C Mullany1, Abdullah H Baqui1. 1. 1International Center for Maternal and Newborn Health,Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,615 N. Wolfe Street,Suite E-8624,Baltimore,MD21205,USA. 2. 2Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine,Brigham and Women's Hospital,Boston,MA,USA. 3. 3International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b),Dhaka,Bangladesh. 4. 4Johns Hopkins University-Bangladesh,Dhaka,Bangladesh. 5. 5Department of Epidemiology,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Baltimore,MD,USA. 6. 6Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,Seattle,WA,USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the prevalence of and risk factors for malnutrition in a population-based cohort of women of childbearing age in rural Bangladesh. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study that collected pre-pregnancy weight, height, and data on selected risk factors for nutritional status of women. SETTING: The study was conducted in Sylhet District of Bangladesh. SUBJECTS: Study subjects included 13 230 non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Women were classified into underweight (<18·5 kg/m2), normal (18·5-24·9 kg/m2) and overweight/obese (≥25·0 kg/m2) using BMI; and into moderate to severe stunting (<150 cm), mild stunting (150-<155 cm) and normal (≥155 cm) using height. Two multinomial logistic regression models were fitted for BMI: model 1 examined individual and household factors associated with BMI, and model 2 additionally examined the association of community variables. The same analysis was conducted for height. RESULTS: Prevalence of underweight, overweight/obesity and moderate to severe stunting was 37·0, 7·2 and 48·6 %, respectively. Women's education and household wealth were inversely related to both underweight status and stunting. Underweight rate was significantly lower in the post-harvest season. Women with any education and who belonged to households with higher wealth were more likely to be overweight/obese. CONCLUSIONS: The study documented high underweight and stunting, and moderate overweight/obesity rates among rural Bangladeshi women; and recommends design and implementation of a multidimensional intervention programme based on individual-, household- and community-level risk factors that can address underweight, stunting and overweight/obesity to improve the nutritional status of women of childbearing age in Bangladesh.
OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the prevalence of and risk factors for malnutrition in a population-based cohort of women of childbearing age in rural Bangladesh. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study that collected pre-pregnancy weight, height, and data on selected risk factors for nutritional status of women. SETTING: The study was conducted in Sylhet District of Bangladesh. SUBJECTS: Study subjects included 13 230 non-pregnant women of childbearing age. Women were classified into underweight (<18·5 kg/m2), normal (18·5-24·9 kg/m2) and overweight/obese (≥25·0 kg/m2) using BMI; and into moderate to severe stunting (<150 cm), mild stunting (150-<155 cm) and normal (≥155 cm) using height. Two multinomial logistic regression models were fitted for BMI: model 1 examined individual and household factors associated with BMI, and model 2 additionally examined the association of community variables. The same analysis was conducted for height. RESULTS: Prevalence of underweight, overweight/obesity and moderate to severe stunting was 37·0, 7·2 and 48·6 %, respectively. Women's education and household wealth were inversely related to both underweight status and stunting. Underweight rate was significantly lower in the post-harvest season. Women with any education and who belonged to households with higher wealth were more likely to be overweight/obese. CONCLUSIONS: The study documented high underweight and stunting, and moderate overweight/obesity rates among rural Bangladeshi women; and recommends design and implementation of a multidimensional intervention programme based on individual-, household- and community-level risk factors that can address underweight, stunting and overweight/obesity to improve the nutritional status of women of childbearing age in Bangladesh.
Entities:
Keywords:
BMI; Bangladesh; Nutrition; Overweight/obese; Underweight; Women
Authors: Sangappa M Dhaded; K Michael Hambidge; Sumera Aziz Ali; Manjunath Somannavar; Sarah Saleem; Omrana Pasha; Umber Khan; Veena Herekar; Sunil Vernekar; Yogesh Kumar S; Jamie E Westcott; Vanessa R Thorsten; Amaanti Sridhar; Abhik Das; Elizabeth McClure; Richard J Derman; Robert L Goldenberg; Marion Koso-Thomas; Shivaprasad S Goudar; Nancy F Krebs Journal: PLoS One Date: 2020-01-29 Impact factor: 3.240