Under Weightiness among Ever-married Non-pregnant Women in Bangladesh: A Population Based Study

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of under weightiness among young women is a growing public health concern. This paper identified the determinant factors of under weightiness among non-pregnant ever-married women in Bangladesh. Data and necessary information of 16,206 non-pregnant ever-married women were extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2011. The chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis were used as the statistical tools to analyze the data. The results revealed that the women are found underweight around two times more (15.4% in urban, and 28% in rural) in the rural areas than that of urban areas in Bangladesh. Almost all the factors are found statistically significantly associated with underweight for both urban and rural areas. The binary logistic regression model identified the higher risk of being underweight in the younger age group (15-24 years), illiteracy, husband's illiteracy, having more children, poor economic condition, not having exposure to mass media, household food unsecured, and genital discharged women for both urban and rural areas. The under weightiness among non-pregnant ever-married women for both urban and rural areas are prevalent. Therefore, there is a need for public health programs related to nutrition that are able to address both the areas simultaneously.