Nationally Representative Surveys Show Recent Increases in the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Women of Reproductive Age in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India

Our aims in this study were to examine trends in the prevalence of overweight-obesity and underweight among women of reproductive age in 3 South Asian countries between 1996 and 2006 and to identify sociodemographic correlates of overweight in the most recent survey. Using nationally representative data from 8 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Bangladesh (n = 19,211), Nepal (n = 19,354), and India (n = 161,755), we examined the change in the prevalence rates of overweight-obesity (BMI > or = 25 kg/m(2)) and underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m(2)) over a recent 7- to 10-y period among women aged 15-49 y. The prevalence of overweight-obesity increased substantially in all countries. Comparing the first to the latest survey in Bangladesh, the…