Prevalence and associated factors of overweight and obesity among adult women in Tanzania from the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey.

In Tanzania, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among women is reported to be increasing over a past decade. However, there is paucity of empirical studies that have documented the national prevalence and the factors associated with the burden among women aged 20-49. Therefore, this study intended to fill the gap. Secondary data analysis was conducted on data from the 5,355 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey. The weighted sample included in this study was 16,716 women aged 20-49 years. Data analysis was performed using Stata 18.0 software. The strength of the association was assessed using the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) along with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). The overall prevalence of overweight and obesity among adult women aged 20-49 years in Tanzania was 36% (95% CI 33.6, 38.0), whereby 22% of women were overweight, while 14% were obese. The results revealed that factors associated with overweight and obesity among women included being aged 40-49 years (aOR = 3.84, 95% CI 3.11, 4.74; p < 0.001), residing in urban areas (aOR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.13, 1.80; p = 0.003), having secondary education and above (aOR = 1.69, 95% CI 1.26, 2.26; p < 0.001),belonging to rich quintile (aOR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.53, 2.77; p < 0.001), using unhealthy foods (aOR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.01, 1.56; p = 0.044), smoking (aOR = 2.90, 95% CI 1.13, 7.45; p = 0.027) and watching television at least once a week (aOR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.25, 1.94; p < 0.001). The Ministry of Health and other health stakeholders should design programs to combat overweight and obesity, targeting older women by incorporating health topics into the educational curriculum in Tanzania.