Prevalence of Malnutrition and Non communicable disease among South Indian Women: an Urban-Rural Comparison

The aim of this study is to examine the urban rural differentials in the effects of socio economic predictors on underweight and underweight/obesity of ever-married women in South Indian States. The effect of malnutrition and other risk factors on non-communicable diseases is also examined. Nutritional status, socio economic and demographic background of women was obtained from the nationally representative DHS data (NFHS 2015–2016). Multinomial and binary logistic regression was performed in determining the risk factors of malnutrition and examining the effect of malnutrition and associated risk factors on non-communicable diseases. The result revealed that in rural and urban settings, women of age less than 20 years were 2.78(OR=3.78, 95% CI=2.10–6.80) and 0.72(OR=1.72, 95% CI=1.15–2.57) times more likely to be underweight. Women from urban areas were significantly less likely to suffer from anemia (OR=.96, 95% CI=.94-.99) and hypertension (OR.94, 95% CI=.90-.97) than those from urban areas. Women who were categorized as overweight were less likely to suffer from anemia and more likely to suffer from diabetes respectively.