Search

Background: Overweight/obesity has become global health concern with increasing prevalence. This study examined district-level disparities and spatial clustering of overweight/obesity among women of reproductive age (WRA) in India using the latest National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–2021) data. Method: Information of 623,656 women aged 15 to 49 from the NFHS-5 (2019–2021) were analysed in this study. The outcome variable was BMI as classified by the world health organisation (WHO). Utilising Global Moran's I, Anselin's Local Moran's I, and spatial regression models spatial clustering and associated factors were analysed. Result: The study found that 24% (95% CI: 23.8–24.3) of WRA in India were overweight/obese in 2019–21. The prevalence was greatest in Punjab (41%) and lowest in Meghalaya (11%). Additionally, the Global Moran's I value for the outcome variable was 0.73, indicating a positive spatial autocorrelation in the overweight/obesity. Districts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, and Delhi were hotspots of overweight/obesity. Several factors of overweight/obesity among WRA were identified, including place of residence (β: 0.034, p: 0.011), parity (β: 0.322, p: 0.002), social group (β: -0.031, p: 0.016), religion (β: -0.044, p: <0.001), household wealth status (β: 0.184, p: <0.001), mass-media exposure (β: 0.056, p: 0.031), and diabetes (β: 0.680, p: <0.001). Conclusion: The study emphasizes the importance of targeted interventions and region-specific strategies, while also stressing the need to address associated factors to develop effective public health initiatives aimed at reducing overweight/obesity prevalence among WRA in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally by 2030, 38% of the world's population would be overweight, and another 20% would be obese. This has led to rising concerns regarding how swiftly and substantially the world is moving towards this epidemic of "globesity". India too is facing an increased burden of overweight and obese population. The changing dietary patterns are significantly associated with the increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity and related complications, especially among women. Hence, the present study aims to observe the spatial patterns of overweight or obesity among women in reproductive age group in India and factors associated with it. Methods: The study analyzed data from a cross-sectional nationwide household survey, i.e. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–16. The primary outcome variable of this study was overweight/obesity among reproductive-age women, which was measured through the body mass index (BMI) of the women. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Additionally, for spatial analysis in terms of overweight/obesity among women in India, univariate and bivariate Moran's I index measurements were used along with the usage of spatial regression models. Results: The value of spatial-autocorrelation for overweight or obese was 0.64, which depicts the moderately high prevalence of the overweight/obesity coverage over districts of India. The overall prevalence overweight/obesity among women in India is around 25% and higher proportion of women from urban areas (37.8%), and non-poor (33.4%) economic group reported to be overweight or obese. From spatial lag model, the lag coefficient was found to be 0.28, implying that a change in the prevalence of overweight/obesity among women in a certain district may statistically lag the prevalence of overweight/obesity by 28% in the neighbouring districts. There were significantly high clustering of overweight/obese women and non-poor wealth quintiles in 132 districts, mainly from states of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, there was high-high clustering of overweight/obese women and those who ever had caesarean in 82 districts, mostly from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Conclusion: The spatial patterns on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in India show that the women belonging to the southern states' districts are more overweight or obese in comparison to other states. The determinants like older age, higher education, urban residence, higher economic status are the key factors contributing to the prevalence of overweight or obesity among women in the reproductive age group. The study concludes and recommends an urgent need of interventions catering to urban women belonging to higher socio-economic status, to reduce the risks of health consequences due to overweight and obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The common cause of anemia in the general population is iron deficiency. Anemia is adversely affecting women of reproductive age and child health which in turn results in increased morbidity and maternal death, and also hamper social-economic growth. Reproductive women are more prone to anemia due to inadequate dietary intake and iron loss during menstruation and pregnancy. Objectives: This study examined the level and trend of anemia prevalence among the socially disadvantaged group (SC&ST, OBC) of women as compared to the other women (general) and identified the main responsible factors behind this. Data and methods: The data for this analysis has been taken from three rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted during 2005–2006 (NFHS 3), 2015–16 (NFHS 4) and 2019–21 (NFHS 5). Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to assess the level of anemia among reproductive age group women of different social groups. The regression model represents the relative risk of different confounding factors on the occurrence of anemia. GIS technique used for graphical representation of anemia prevalence rate among different social groups of women in different states of India. Result: In India more than 15 states belong to the high prevalence (>%55) of anemia among socially backward groups in 2019–21. The anemia prevalence was high (>55%) in all social groups (SC & ST, OBC, general) observed in 7 states in NFHS-3, 4 in NFHS-4 and 11 states in NFHS-5. The overall result reveals that the SC&ST women were more prone to any anemia than OBC and general women and the prevalence rate slightly increased from 2005–06 to 2019–21. Among all variables, economic status dominantly controls the anemia level in all social groups. Anemia prevalence of the poor and poorest group of general women were much worse than the women of richer and richest groups of SC&ST, OBC. The odds of women having anemia were lower among higher educated and urban women as compared to the non educated and rural women, irrespective of social group. The prevalence of anemia decreases with increased age of women and increases with the number of child bearing. All differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: The problem of iron deficiency remains a major issue in India, where the majority of the states (eastern, north-eastern and central) suffer from high anemia prevalence rate and it increases over time. It is observed that multiple socio-demographic factors ranging from poor economic and educational status, rural residence to higher childbearing of women are responsible for predicting anemia levels among the social groups of women in India. To eradicate this problem India should improve women's overall nutrition status and their income. Meanwhile, GOI should be more focused on the existing policies related to anemia and on their actual implementation on grassroots level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]