Prevalence and Determinants of Adult Under-Nutrition in Botswana

BACKGROUND: To estimate the prevalence and determinants of adult under-nutrition in Botswana. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted where a nationally representative sample of people aged 20 to 49 years was used for the analysis. The outcome measure of under-nutrition was measured as BMI<18.5 kg/m(2). RESULTS: Of the total sample, 19.5% of males and 10.1% of females were underweight (BMI<18.5 kg/m(2)). The wealth index showed that 30.9% of the adult population with low a BMI belongs to the poorest 20% of the households while only 9.6% comprised of the richest 20% of the households. Results from logistic regression analysis indicated that both adult men and women who had no education and belonged to the low socioeconomic group had a statistically significant association with low BMI. Among the female adult population, being young and not having watched TV at least once a week were significantly associated with low BMI. For the male adult population, being unmarried was significantly associated with low BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Programme interventions aimed at improving the nutritional status of adults can use these findings to make appropriate policy, to establish baselines and study nutritional changes over time and its covariates.