Assessment of Adult Weight Status by Body Mass index (BMI) and the Association with Socio-Demographic Factors and Commonly Eaten Foods in Indonesia Between 2014–2015

• Published in: Current developments in nutrition Vol. 4; no. Supplement_2; p. 729
• Main Authors: Taylor, Salima, Fisher, Katie, Simpson, Ryan, Naumova, Elena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.06.2020; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Food Choice, Markets and Policy
• ISSN: 2475-2991; 2475-2991
• DOI: 10.1093/cdn/nzaa051_026

Factors associated with the double burden of underweight and overweight/obesity are not well investigated in Indonesia. Insufficient information leaves policy makers without tools to develop coherent, impactful legislation on these issues. We aim to describe and explain the association between weight status, socio-demographic factors, and food consumption patterns in Indonesia. We used the 5th Wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) collected in 2014/15. From the total sample (50,148), we included only adults aged ≥20 years (27,496). We converted BMI into three categories: underweight (BMI < 18.5), healthy weight (18.5 ≤ BMI ≤ 25), overweight/obese (BMI > 25). Sociodemographic factors included location, education, sex, age category, and frequency of commonly eaten food items. We examined associations using multinomial logistic regression models (α < 0.05). Urban residents were less likely to be underweight (RRR = 0.90 [0.82, 0.98]; P = 0.014) and more likely to be overweight/obesity (RRR = 1.38 [1.31, 1.46]; P < 0.001) than rural residents. University educated respondents were nearly half as likely of being underweight (RRR = 0.58 [0.46, 0.72]; P < 0.001) but more than twice as likely of being overweight/obesity (RRR = 2.15 [1.82, 2.53]; P < 0.001) compared to uneducated respondents. Women were 25% less likely to be underweight (RRR = 0.76 [0.70, 0.83]; P < 0.001) but over twice as likely of being overweight/obesity (RRR = 2.40 [2.28, 2.54]; P = 0.001) compared to men. Those 40 – 49 and 50 – 59 years were over twice as likely of being overweight/obese (RRR = 2.49 [2.30, 2.71]; P < 0.001; RRR = 2.40 [2.19, 2.65]; P < 0.001, respectively) compared to those 20 –29 years. Interestingly, high rice consumption (≥4 servings/week) was associated with decreased risk of both underweight and overweight/obesity (RRR = 0.62 [0.38, 0.98]; P = 0.043 and RRR = 0.69 [0.49, 0.96]; P = 0.27, respectively). Since 2007, underweight prevalence has decreased in Indonesia from 14.4% to 9.8%, while overweight/obesity prevalence increased from 17.9% to 34.4%. Closer examination of the factors driving over- and under-nutrition in Indonesia can inform policy makers of specific target populations for existing national food subsidy programs. NSF IRES US-Indonesian Research Experience #1,826,939.