Trends, prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh: a pooled analysis of five national cross-sectional surveys

OBJECTIVE: To determine the trends, prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity among Bangladeshi women of reproductive age from 1999 to 2014. DESIGN: We analysed nationally representative data from the 1999, 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2014 cross-sectional Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys. SETTING: Bangladesh. PARTICIPANTS: Women aged 15–49 years. PRIMARY OUTCOME: Overweight/obesity. RESULTS: A total of 58 192 women were included in the analysis. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age increased significantly from 7.53% (95% CI 6.83 to 8.29) and 1.82% (95% CI 1.48 to 2.24) in 1999 to 28.37% (95% CI 27.49 to 29.28) and 10.77% (95% CI 10.22 to 11.35) in 2014, respectively. Age, education, wealth index, watching television and contraceptive use were associated with overweight and obesity in both urban and rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obesity prevalence increased significantly among Bangladeshi women of reproductive age between 1999 and 2014. Development of effective low-cost strategies to address the increasing burden of obesity should be a high priority.