Trends, prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh: a pooled analysis of five national cross-sectional surveys

Objective

To determine the trends, prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity among Bangladeshi women of reproductive age from 1999 to 2014.

Design

We analysed nationally representative data from the 1999, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2014 cross-sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys.

Setting

Bangladesh.

Participants

Women aged 15–49 years.

Primary outcome

Overweight/obesity.

Results

A total of 58 192 women were included in the analysis. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age increased significantly from 7.53% (95% CI 6.83 to 8.29) and 1.82% (95% CI 1.48 to 2.24) in 1999 to 28.37% (95% CI 27.49 to 29.28) and 10.77% (95% CI 10.22 to 11.35) in 2014, respectively. Age, education, wealth index, watching television and contraceptive use were associated with overweight and obesity in both urban and rural areas.

Conclusions

Overweight and obesity prevalence increased significantly among Bangladeshi women of reproductive age between 1999 and 2014. Development of effective low-cost strategies to address the increasing burden of obesity should be a high priority.

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