IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0216644.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Correlates and inequality of underweight and overweight among women of reproductive age: Evidence from the 2016 Nepal Demographic Health Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Anjana Rai
  • Swadesh Gurung
  • Subash Thapa
  • Naomi M Saville

Abstract

Introduction: Understanding socio-economic correlates and inequality of underweight and overweight is crucial to develop interventions to prevent adverse health outcomes. Materials and methods: We analysed Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016 data from 6,069 women aged 15–49 years. WHO cut-offs for Body Mass Index categorised as: underweight ( = 25.0 kg/m2) were used. We used multinomial logistic regression to explore associations of factors with Body Mass Index and concentration indices to estimate socio-economic inequalities. Results: Higher risk of underweight was found in age group 15–19 (RRR 3.08, 95% CI: 2.29–4.15), 20–29 (RRR 1.64, 95% CI: 1.29–2.08) and in lowest (RRR 1.60, 95% CI: 1.03–2.47) and second wealth quintiles (RRR 1.77 (95% CI: 1.18–2.64). Education, occupation, urban/rural residence and food security were not associated with underweight (p>0.05). Lower risk of overweight/obesity was found in age group 15–19 (RRR 0.07, 95% CI: 0.05–0.10), 20–29 (RRR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.32–0.51), in manual occupation (RRR 0.58, 95% CI: 0.46–0.74) and in lower quintiles. Women with primary (RRR 1.91, 95% CI: 1.36–2.67), secondary education (RRR 1.42, 95% CI 1.00, 2.01) were at increased risk of overweight/obesity. Household food security and urban/rural residence were not associated with overweight/obesity (p>0.05). Socioeconomic inequalities were detected, with overweight/obesity strongly concentrated (concentration index: 0.380) amongst the higher quintiles and underweight concentrated (concentration index: -0.052) amongst the poorest. Conclusion: Nutrition programmes should target younger and poor women to address undernutrition and higher wealth group women to address overnutrition. Equity based nutrition interventions improving socio-economic status of poor households may benefit undernourished women. Interventions to encourage physical activity as women age and among wealthier women as well as healthy eating for prevention of under- and over-nutrition are needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Anjana Rai & Swadesh Gurung & Subash Thapa & Naomi M Saville, 2019. "Correlates and inequality of underweight and overweight among women of reproductive age: Evidence from the 2016 Nepal Demographic Health Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0216644
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216644
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216644
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0216644&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0216644?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sengupta, Angan & Angeli, Federica & Syamala, Thelakkat S. & Dagnelie, Pieter C. & Schayck, C.P. van, 2015. "Overweight and obesity prevalence among Indian women by place of residence and socio-economic status: Contrasting patterns from ‘underweight states’ and ‘overweight states’ of India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 161-169.
    2. Neena Shah More & Ujwala Bapat & Sushmita Das & Glyn Alcock & Sarita Patil & Maya Porel & Leena Vaidya & Armida Fernandez & Wasundhara Joshi & David Osrin, 2012. "Community Mobilization in Mumbai Slums to Improve Perinatal Care and Outcomes: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial," Working Papers id:5098, eSocialSciences.
    3. Tuhin Biswas & Md Saimul Islam & Natalie Linton & Lal B Rawal, 2016. "Socio-Economic Inequality of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases in Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-12, November.
    4. Gitanjali M Singh & Goodarz Danaei & Farshad Farzadfar & Gretchen A Stevens & Mark Woodward & David Wormser & Stephen Kaptoge & Gary Whitlock & Qing Qiao & Sarah Lewington & Emanuele Di Angelantonio &, 2013. "The Age-Specific Quantitative Effects of Metabolic Risk Factors on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes: A Pooled Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-10, July.
    5. Gittelsohn, Joel & Thapa, Meera & Landman, Laura T., 1997. "Cultural factors, caloric intake and micronutrient sufficiency in rural Nepali households," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(11), pages 1739-1749, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kritika Rana & Ritesh Chimoriya & Nabila Binte Haque & Milan K. Piya & Romila Chimoriya & Michael Ekholuenetale & Amit Arora, 2022. "Prevalence and Correlates of Underweight among Women of Reproductive Age in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Monica Ewomazino Akokuwebe & Erhabor Sunday Idemudia, 2021. "Multilevel Analysis of Urban–Rural Variations of Body Weights and Individual-Level Factors among Women of Childbearing Age in Nigeria and South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-30, December.
    3. Patel, Ratna & Srivastava, Shobhit & Kumar, Pradeep & Chauhan, Shekhar, 2020. "Factors associated with double burden of malnutrition among mother-child pairs in India: A study based on National Family Health Survey 2015–16," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    4. Kedir Y Ahmed & Abdon G Rwabilimbo & Solomon Abrha & Andrew Page & Amit Arora & Fentaw Tadese & Tigistu Yemane Beyene & Abdulaziz Seiko & Abdulhafiz A Endris & Kingsley E Agho & Felix Akpojene Ogbo & , 2020. "Factors associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity in reproductive age Tanzanian women," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Rajat Das Gupta & Shams Shabab Haider & Mohammad Rashidul Hashan & Mehedi Hasan & Ipsita Sutradhar & Ibrahim Hossain Sajal & Hemraj Joshi & Mohammad Rifat Haider & Malabika Sarker, 2020. "Association between the frequency of television watching and overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in Nepal: Analysis of data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-13, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gore, Radhika, 2021. "Ensuring the ordinary: Politics and public service in municipal primary care in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    2. Xian Li & Stephen Jan & Lijing L Yan & Alison Hayes & Yunbo Chu & Haijun Wang & Xiangxian Feng & Wenyi Niu & Feng J He & Jun Ma & Yanbo Han & Graham A MacGregor & Yangfeng Wu, 2017. "Cost and cost-effectiveness of a school-based education program to reduce salt intake in children and their families in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Monica Jain & Shannon Shisler & Charlotte Lane & Avantika Bagai & Elizabeth Brown & Mark Engelbert & Yoav Vardy & John Eyers & Daniela Anda Leon & Shradha S. Parsekar, 2022. "Use of community engagement interventions to improve child immunisation in low‐ and middle‐income countries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), September.
    4. Elena Briones Alonso & Lara Cockx & Jo Swinnen, 2017. "Culture and food security," Working Papers of Department of Economics, Leuven 591898, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Department of Economics, Leuven.
    5. Gerald E. Shively & Jared Gars & Celeste Sununtnasuk, 2011. "A Review Of Food Security And Human Nutrition Issues In Nepal," Working Papers 11-5 Classification-JEL :, Purdue University, College of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    6. Alayne M Adams & Rubana Islam & Sifat Shahana Yusuf & Anthony Panasci & Nancy Crowell, 2020. "Healthcare seeking for chronic illness among adult slum dwellers in Bangladesh: A descriptive cross-sectional study in two urban settings," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, June.
    7. Liu, Gang & Chen, Huizhen & Yuan, Ye & Song, Chenge, 2024. "Indoor thermal environment and human health: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    8. Archana Dang & Indrani Gupta, 2021. "Obesity and its Impact on COVID Occurrence: Evidence from India," IEG Working Papers 430, Institute of Economic Growth.
    9. Darrouzet-Nardi, Amelia F. & Miller, Laurie C. & Joshi, Neena & Mahato, Shubh & Lohani, Mahendra & Rogers, Beatrice L., 2016. "Child dietary quality in rural Nepal: Effectiveness of a community-level development intervention," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 185-197.
    10. Archana Dang & Indrani Gupta, 2023. "Overnutrition and COVID Prevalence in India: Evidence and Implications," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 17(1), pages 44-59, April.
    11. Mary Kay Gugerty & Pierre Biscaye & C. Leigh Anderson, 2019. "Delivering development? Evidence on self‐help groups as development intermediaries in South Asia and Africa," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 37(1), pages 129-151, January.
    12. Hartini, T. Ninuk S. & Padmawati, R. Siwi & Lindholm, Lars & Surjono, Achmad & Winkvist, Anna, 2005. "The importance of eating rice: changing food habits among pregnant Indonesian women during the economic crisis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 199-210, July.
    13. Ilana G. Raskind & Shailaja S. Patil & Regine Haardörfer & Solveig A. Cunningham, 2018. "Unhealthy Weight in Indian Families: The Role of the Family Environment in the Context of the Nutrition Transition," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(2), pages 157-180, April.
    14. Harris-Fry, Helen & Saville, Naomi M. & Paudel, Puskar & Manandhar, Dharma S. & Cortina-Borja, Mario & Skordis, Jolene, 2022. "Relative power: Explaining the effects of food and cash transfers on allocative behaviour in rural Nepalese households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    15. Hadley, Craig & Lindstrom, David & Tessema, Fasil & Belachew, Tefara, 2008. "Gender bias in the food insecurity experience of Ethiopian adolescents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 427-438, January.
    16. Violeta Chacon & Guillermo Paraje & Joaquin Barnoya & Frank J Chaloupka, 2018. "Own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities on sugar-sweetened beverages in Guatemala," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-12, October.
    17. Aiyar, Anaka & Dhingra, Sunaina & Pingali, Prabhu, 2021. "Transitioning to an obese India: Demographic and structural determinants of the rapid rise in overweight incidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    18. Prakash Shakya & Mika Kondo Kunieda & Momoko Koyama & Sarju Sing Rai & Moe Miyaguchi & Sumi Dhakal & Su Sandy & Bruno Fokas Sunguya & Masamine Jimba, 2017. "Effectiveness of community-based peer support for mothers to improve their breastfeeding practices: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-24, May.
    19. Piperata, Barbara A. & Schmeer, Kammi K. & Hadley, Craig & Ritchie-Ewing, Genevieve, 2013. "Dietary inequalities of mother–child pairs in the rural Amazon: Evidence of maternal-child buffering?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 183-191.
    20. M A McNarry & R P Wilson & M D Holton & I W Griffiths & K A Mackintosh, 2017. "Investigating the relationship between energy expenditure, walking speed and angle of turning in humans," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-12, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0216644. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.