Development brings underweight down, raises obesity up

Kazi Asma, a 40-year-old school teacher in the capital's Khilkhet area, has been suffering from diabetes. The 5.1-inch-tall woman weighs 65 kilograms. She is a registered patient of Birdem General Hospital. Her doctor said if she did not lose weight, her diabetes would deteriorate.

On the other hand, Suborna Akter, a housewife in Nilphamari's Kishoreganj upazila, has been suffering from underweight problems. Recently, she gave birth to a pre-mature child.

Both underweight and overweight are associated with different types of health problems.

Overweight and obesity is linked with many non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problem, and many more, according to health experts.

Similarly, underweight causes variety of communicable diseases as well as low birth weight, preterm birth, mental health impairment, increased risk of infant mortality and higher risk of early mortality.

Though the prevalence of underweight in married women of Bangladesh has decreased by 43.2 percent (from 32.2 percent in 2004 to 18.3 percent in 2014), the overweight and obesity problem has increased by 130.5 percent (from 10.5 percent in 2004 to 24.2 percent in 2014), according to a study.

Becoming overweight and obese is on the rise considerably whereas the prevalence of underweight is decreasing gradually, says the survey titled "Double burden of malnutrition among ever-married women in Bangladesh: a pooled analysis".

The survey was done by analysing data from the Demographic Health Survey of 2004 to 2014, aiming to see what changes have occurred in nutritional status with the development of the country.

It was published in the Springer Nature's science journal "BMC Women's Health" in June.

Lead author of the study Tania Sultana Tanwi of the Maternal and Child Health Division at ICDDRB told The Business Standard that after taking different initiatives, underweight problem in the country is decreasing.

"Although the prevalence of underweight is decreasing, it is still very high. On the other hand, overweight has increased rapidly," she said.

In Bangladesh, 18.3 percent married women are underweight and 24.2 percent are overweight, according to the survey.

A sample of around 57,000 married non-pregnant women aged between 15 and 49 years was selected for the analysis.

Underweight is more seen among rural poor women with no education, whereas overweight is rapidly increasing among urban rich women with higher education, according to the survey.

"So far, the problem of malnutrition was given more emphasis in our country, but now over-nutrition is also a burden," said Tania.

The prevalence of being overweight and obese in developing countries is associated with the rising urbanisation, according to experts.

In urban areas, an easy access to technologies requires less energy.

Besides, junk food, modern transportation system, limited space for physical activity and sedentary lifestyle promote the tendency of being overweight and obese.

Like underweight, overweight was an emerging problem now, said Dr SM Mustafizur Rahman, line director at the National Nutrition Service, Institute of Public Health Nutrition.

"The government has a variety of programmes for eliminating malnutrition. Now we are focusing on over-nutrition," he added.

Various steps were being conducted to raise awareness among people to avoid fast food and increase physical activities, he elaborated.