Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Married Women of Reproductive Age and its Association with Cumulative Socioeconomic Factors in Mazandaran Province-Iran

Background and

Obesity is a growing public health concern worldwide. This study examined the prevalence of obesity/overweight and its relation with cumulative socioeconomic risk in women of reproductive age in Mazandaran province, Iran.

In this descriptive correlational study using a multi-stage cluster sampling method, 540 married women aged 15-45 referred to primary health centers in Mazandaran province were recruited (2020). Body mass index was categorized into three levels: obese (≥30), overweight (25-29.9), and normal (18.5-24.9). Socio-economic status was classified using generalized Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method. Each of the socio-economic variables (8 indicators) was given a score of zero or one, and then the scores were added up. The scores of ≥5, 3-5, and ≤2 were considered good, average, and poor, respectively. The relationship between socio-economic variables and different levels of body mass index was assessed once separately and once cumulatively in binary regression.

The prevalence of obesity and overweight was 23.3% and 48.5%, respectively. The socio-economic status of 26.2% of the participants was classified as good, 64.3% as average, and 9.5% as poor. There was a significant positive and negative relationship between obesity in women with their number of children (OR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.50-5.17) and obesity in their parents (OR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.19-0.94) respectively. Statistical tests did not show significant relationship between women's obesity and their cumulative socio-economic status (P>0.05).

The prevalence of obesity and overweight among women of reproductive age, regardless of their socio-economic status, has reached epidemic proportions. Extensive studies are suggested to better understand the factors that contribute to obesity and to provide a more accurate explanation for the rapid increase in obesity among various socio-economic groups.