Magnitude and Correlates of Nutritional Status of Women Across Rural-UrbanInterface of Bengaluru

摘要

India is facing a triple burden of malnutrition undernutrition and overnutrition/ obesity. The study attempts to examine the determinants of malnutrition among women across the rural-urban interface in relation to age, education, family size and per capita consumption of diverse food items. The primary data was collected from 348 female respondents in the north of Bengaluru. The multiple linear regression and multinomial logistic regression were employed to identify the factors influencing Body MassIndex (BMI) of women across the gradient. The study shows that urban women are relatively prone to overweight and obesity compared to transition and rural women, this is because of change in lifestyle, increase in age with less physical activity, workingstatus of women in relation to educational attainment, consumption of unhealthy (junk or fast) food items. The results indicated that age and number of years of schooling, the presence of diabetes and hypertensive patients have a tendency to have increased BMI. Increase in consumption of cereals and starchy vegetables have a significant influence on increased BMI. Since undernutrition was found to be high in the rural area, creating awareness and educating women regarding the nutritive value of food items is crucial. Increase in body weight is responsible for both diabetes and blood pressure. Along with the promotion of nutrient-rich food, providing basic facilities of pure drinking water, creating household hygiene will improve utilization and absorption capacity of food.