Prevalence of Body Mass Index Lower Than 16 Among Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

IMPORTANCE: Body mass index (BMI) lower than 16 is the most severe category of adult undernutrition and is associated with substantial morbidity, increased mortality, and poor maternal-fetal outcomes such as low-birth-weight newborns. Little is known about the prevalence and distribution of BMI lower than 16 in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and distribution of BMI lower than 16 and its change in prevalence over time in women in LMIC. DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional data analysis composed of nationally representative surveys from 1993 through 2012 from the Demographic and Health Surveys Program. Women aged 20 through 49 years from 60 LMIC (N = 500,761) and a subset of 40 countries with repeated surveys (N =…