Overweight Exceeds Underweight among Women in Kerala

An Analysis of Trends and Determinants

Bibliographic Data

ID5179609
AuthorsP Ramesh (0000-0002-0322-2114, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics), Jareena, Sk Jareena (International Institute for Population Sciences)
Year2009
Volume25
Issue2
Pages93-103
Publication date2009-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Ecology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0970-9274 • E-ISSN: 2456-6608
PublisherKamla Raj Enterprises (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/09709274.2009.11906141
OpenAlexW117873687
LanguageDE
Citations received5
References cited11

While under-nutrition (underweight and stunting) is still prevalent in India, the rates of overweight and obesity are steadily increasing, especially among adults. In Kerala, the rates of overweight and obese exceeded underweight. This paper examines the trends in the shift from underweight to overweight and identify the major determinants of the co-existence of ‘double burden’ of malnutrition among women of reproductive age 15-49 years using the data from National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) diet and nutrition surveys and the second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2). Results of the multivariate logistic regression analyses on NFHS-2 data show that household standard of living and age are significantly associated with both underweight and overweight or obesity. On the other hand, work status, residence and caste are not significant on women’s nutritional status. Among others, Muslim and Christian women, women who watch television more than once a week and women who reported eating fruits daily and consume chicken or meat or fish are more likely to be overweight or obese than their counterparts. The risk of chronic energy deficiency or underweight is significantly higher among never married women and lower among literate women. In summary, both underweight and overweight or obesity are equally present in Kerala and there is a need for public health programs that are able to address both simultaneously

Double burden · Environmental health · Logistic regression · Malnutrition · Obesity · Overweight · Public health · Residence · Underweight · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Demography · Medicine · Gerontology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub