The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Underweight, Overweight and Obesity Among Somali Women: Evidence from Somali Health and Demographic Survey 2020.

Authors

Mahad Ibrahim Ali, Jama Mohamed, Soheir H Ahmed

Published in

International journal of women's health. Volume 18. Pages 620879. Epub Sep 07, 2026.

Abstract

Underweight, overweight and obesity are a critical public health issues among Somali women. Understanding the factors associated with these conditions is important for informing health policies and interventions.
This study aims to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of underweight, overweight and obesity among Somali women using Somali Health and Demographic Survey 2020.
The study used cross-sectional secondary data analysis from Somali Health and Demographic Survey 2020, a nationally representative survey with 14,460 women were included in the analysis. Women were categorized based on body mass index as underweight (18.49 kg/m²), normal-weight (18.50-24.99 kg/m²), overweight (25.00-29.99 kg/m²) and obese (≥30 kg/m²). Sixteen factors, including socio-demographic, economic, and household factors, were analyzed. Stata version 17.0 was used for data analysis. We applied multilevel binary logistic regression to assess associations.
The prevalence of a normal BMI (46%), while 13.62% were underweight, 30.53% were overweight, and 9.84% were obese. Underweight was associated with not watching TV (AOR = 1.318, 95% CI: 1.060-1.639), never being married (AOR = 2.130, 95% CI: 1.671-2.715), and being a non-head household member (AOR = 1.718, 95% CI: 1.323-2.232). Overweight and obesity were associated with higher wealth (AOR = 2.867, 95% CI: 2.289-3.591), increasing age (AOR = 4.008, 95% CI: 2.805-5.728). Lower odds of overweight and obesity were seen in never-married women (AOR = 0.319, 95% CI: 0.239-0.424).
Findings indicate that underweight, overweight and obesity were prevalent among Somali women, with economic and social disparities playing a crucial role in the prevalence of obesity. Targeted interventions are needed to address under nutrition among economically disadvantaged women and prevent the rising trend of obesity in urban and wealthier populations.

PMID:
42732292
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Sep 2026.

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