Socio-Economic and Demographic Correlates of Overweight and Obesity: A Study on the Karbi Women of Assam, Northeast India

Abstract

Background: Excess adiposity is a chronic condition that contributes to non-communicable disease (NCD) related morbidities, mortalities and causes public health problems.
Objectives: The objectives of the present community based cross-sectional study were to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and its socio-economic and demographic concomitants among a group of Karbi women of Assam, Northeast India.
Material and Methods: The study was carried out among 600 Karbi married women aged 20-49 years in Karbi-Anglong district of Assam, Northeast India. Height and weight were recorded and body mass index (BMI= weight (kg)/ height2 (m2)} was calculated. The prevalence of overweight (BMI≥23.00-24.99 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI≥25.00 kg/m2) were assessed using the Asian-Pacific population reference cut-offs. Data on the socio-economic, demographic and lifestyle variables were collected using a pre-structured questionnaire.
Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 17.33% and 14.33%, respectively. Binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis showed that age at the time of interview, family size, ≥4 number of dependent children, alcohol consumption, tobacco use and monthly per-capita income were the significantly risk factors for both combined overweight-obesity and obesity independently (p<0.05). Step-wise multiple logistic regression showed that age at the time of interview (30-39 years) (p<0.01), consumption of alcohol (p<0.05) and use of tobacco (p<0.05) remain the significant risk factors for combined overweight-obesity; and age at the time of interview (30-39 years) (p<0.01), monthly per-capita income (p<0.05) and number of dependent children (p<0.01) for obesity.
Conclusion: Prevalence of overweight and obesity is emerging as a public health issue among the indigenous Karbi women of Assam. The results suggest that increase in age, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, number of dependent children and family income were the major predictive variables that increases the prevalence of excess adiposity. Appropriate healthcare strategies and intervention programmes are required to reduce subsequent complications of excess adiposity in this population.