Abstract

Background: According to recent data from the Ethiopian demographic and health survey (EDHS), national prevalence of underweight among men and women aged 15-49 years is 27%.

This study aims to: (1) assess the prevalence of underweight (2) describe variations in underweight by socio demographic factors age, wealth, residence, and education etc. in Ethiopia. Methods: The present study was performed using the EDHS 2016 dataset. Socio demographic variables were selected based on their availability in the dataset Nutritional status of men and women age 15-49 years measured by their BMI cut-off point of 18.5 kg/m2 is used to define underweight. Descriptive statistics were employed to show the distribution of socio-demographic characteristics. Complementary log log regression model used to determine the true association between underweight and basic socio-demographic factors.

Results: Of the total sample of 27289 of men and women age 15-49 years at the time of survey, 27 % (n = 6645) have underweight in Ethiopia, with underweight mainly concentrated among adolescent (57.96%). About 61 % of the variation in the outcome variable (underweight) is explained by the independent variables included in model. Men and women in the 15-19 age group (ARR=4.882, 95% CI 4.516-- 5.278) and Men and women age 15-49 years in urban areas (ARR=1.650, 95% CI 1.494-- 1.822) were found to be major contributing factors to the under weight

Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of underweight among men and women age 15-49 in Ethiopia Age and residence are socio demographic factors that show a statistical significant association with underweight among Men and Women age 15-49 in Ethiopia It is important to target adolescent and urban areas during implementing nutritional interventions in Ethiopia.

Keywords: Underweight; Socio demographic; EDHS; Ethiopia

Abbreviations: ARR: Adjusted Relative Risk; BMI: Body Mass Index; CED: Chronic Energy Deficiency; CI: Confidence Interval; COR: Crude Odd Ratio; DHS: Demographic Health Survey; EDHS: Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey; ICF: Inner City Fund; SNNPR: Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region; WHO: World Health Organization.