Association of dietary practices with overweight and obesity among women in India based on National Family Health Survey 2019 to 2021

Abstract According to the WHO, obesity was more prevalent among women than men, emphasising a critical gender aspect in recent times. In addition, Popkin argued that economic development, urbanisation, and demographic shifts drove systematic changes in dietary composition and energy expenditure. Therefore, the objective of the present study examined the association between dietary practices and overweight/obesity among Indian women using data from the National Family Health Survey–5 (NFHS-5). Later on, 6,35,963 final samples have been taken for further multivariate logistic regression analysis. The findings emphasised that non-vegetarian women had 18.6% higher odds of overweight/obesity (AOR = 1.186), and the probability of overweight/obesity increased by 2.7% points for non-vegetarians. However, structural determinants exerted a much stronger influence. Age denoted a steep gradient, with women aged 40–49 showing over five times higher odds of overweight/obesity compared to adolescents. However, urban women had 20% higher odds (AOR = 1.200), and wealth showed one of the strongest effects, with the richest women experiencing over four times higher odds of overweight/obesity. In addition, marital status also played a notable role, with married women displaying more than double the odds (AOR = 2.051). Further, women with multiple morbidities had 2.39 times higher odds of being overweight/obese. Therefore, the findings indicated that both dietary behaviours and powerful socioeconomic forces shaped overweight/obesity among Indian women. Policies must encourage active lifestyles through urban planning, workplace health initiatives, and community-based programmes targeting women across different life stages.