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Body mass index of women in Bangladesh: comparing Multiple Linear Regression and Quantile Regression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2020

Sorif Hossain Open the ORCID record for Sorif Hossain [Opens in a new window] ,
Raaj Kishore Biswas Open the ORCID record for Raaj Kishore Biswas [Opens in a new window]  and
Md Amir Hossain
Sorif Hossain*
Affiliation:
Institute of Statistical Research and Training, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Raaj Kishore Biswas
Affiliation:
Transport and Road Safety (TARS) Research Centre, School of Aviation, University of New South Wales, Australia
Md Amir Hossain
Affiliation:
Institute of Statistical Research and Training, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
*
*Corresponding author. Email: shossain9@isrt.ac.bd
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Abstract

This study explored the association between socio-demographic factors and the body mass index (BMI) of women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in Bangladesh. Data from the 2014 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS-14) were analysed using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Quantile Regression (QR) analyses. The study sample comprised 15,636 non-pregnant women aged 15–49. The mean BMI of the women was 22.35±4.12 kg/m2. Over half (56.75%) had a BMI in the normal range (18<BMI<25 kg/m2), and 18.50%, 20.00% and 4.75% were underweight (BMI≤18 kg/m2), overweight (25≤BMI<30 kg/m2) and obese (BMI≥30 kg/m2), respectively. The results of the MLR found that age, wealth index, urban/rural place of residence, geographical division, womenʼs educational status, husbandʼs educational status, womenʼs working status and total number of children ever born were significantly (p<0.001) associated with respondents’ mean BMI. The QR results showed different associations between socio-demographic factors and mean BMI, as well as a different conditional distribution of mean BMI. Overall, the results indicated that women with uneducated husbands, with little or no education and from less-affluent households from rural areas tended to be more underweight compared with women in other groups. The inter-relationship between the study womenʼs mean BMI and associated socio-demographic factors was assessed using QR analysis to identify the most vulnerable cohorts of women in Bangladesh.

Keywords

Body mass indexQuantile regressionDouble burden

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 53 , Issue 2 , March 2021 , pp. 247 - 265
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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