The dietary quality of women of reproductive age (WRA) is particularly important during preconception, conception, and pregnancy for themselves and their offspring. Poorly diversified diets resulting in inadequate micronutrient consumption may have adverse effects on their health. This narrative review summarizes the findings of studies reporting on dietary diversity and micronutrient intake by WRA in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Studies on WRA aged 15–49 years in LMICs, with a sample size of more than 150, report dietary diversity and multiple micronutrient intake based on 24‐h dietary recall/food weighed record/food frequency questionnaire, and published between January 2011 and June 2021 were included. The results were compared to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommended cut‐off for dietary diversity and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended age‐ and sex‐specific estimated average requirements (EARs) for micronutrient intake. This review includes 35 articles, of which 21 focused on dietary diversity and 14 on micronutrient intake. The results showed that WRA in LMICs had inadequate dietary diversity, with mean food group consumption of only 3.0–4.84, and around 42.3%–90% of women consumed inadequately diversified diets (<5 food groups). Additionally, most studies found that WRA did not consume adequate amounts of essential micronutrients, particularly calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, folate, and vitamin B₁₂. However, the intake of vitamin C, niacin, and vitamin B₆ was above the required levels. In conclusion, this review highlights the common inadequacy of dietary diversity and multiple micronutrient intake among WRA in most LMICs. Effective measures involving improving dietary diversity, food fortification with micronutrients, and supplementation programs could help improve the dietary quality and intake of optimal micronutrients by women in LMICs.

The study explored the spatial differences in diet quality and economic vulnerability to food insecurity with the association of sociodemographic characteristics at the household level in Bangladesh. This study was a secondary data analysis of Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data of 2016. Both statistical and spatial analyses were applied while assessing diet qualities in terms of the household dietary diversity score (HDDS), percentage of food energy from staples (PFES), and percentage of expenditure on food (PEF) as an indicator of the economic vulnerability to food insecurity (EVFI). The study’s findings revealed that the quality of people’s diets worsened as they moved from urban to rural area, and EVFI increased as they moved from the center to the periphery of the country. Nationally, the average HDDS was about 6.3, and the average PFES per household per day was about 70.4%. The spatial distribution of HDDS and PFES showed that rural regions in terms of settlements and the north, northwest and southeast regions had mostly low diet diversity. Besides, the average PEF per household per day was about 54%, with the highest in Mymensingh (57.4%) and the lowest in Dhaka division (50.2%). The average PEF in the households illustrated was highest in rural (55.2%) and lowest in the city (45.7%). Overall, based on the PEF at the sub-district level, the medium level of vulnerability comprised the highest share (69%) in Bangladesh. Age, gender, literacy, educational qualification and religion of the household’s head along with the number of earners, monthly income, area of settlements and divisions were significantly correlated with HDDS, PFES and EVFI. The study findings suggest that targeted interventions, including access to education, women empowerment and employment generation programs should be implemented in peripheral areas (north, northwest and southeast) to increase diet quality and minimize economic vulnerability to achieve sustainable food and nutrition security in Bangladesh.

The cost of diet has been recognized as a major determinant of overall diet quality and nutritional outcomes. We aimed to estimate the minimum cost and affordability of the recommended diet based on the updated food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) in Bangladesh. To compute the cost of the recommended diet (CoRD), we collected retail prices of foods corresponding to each of the food groups in the latest Bangladeshi FBDG. For affordability, the household size and daily food expenditure data were used from the most recent Household Income and Expenditure survey (HIES). The CoRD was calculated based on the average number of servings recommended for each food group; the CoRD was adjusted by a deflation factor and divided by the household’s daily food expenditure to estimate affordability. We found that the CoRD was $0.87 (83 BDT) per person per day at the national level. Nationally, about 43% of households could not afford the CoRD, with rural areas bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. We also found households to overspend on starchy staples while underspending on protein-rich foods, fruits, and dairy. These findings highlight the need for immediate implementation of interventions to improve the affordability of the CoRD and redesign policy instruments to create a sustainable food system.

South Asia is observing an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases where diabetes is an important marker. In this study,

We investigated the change of the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Bangladesh from 2011 to 2018 across different socioeconomic groups as well as the factors associated with the changes in prevalence. We used the two waves of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 2011 and 2017–2018. Modified Poisson regression model was used to estimate the prevalence rate and ratio of NCDs and to test the association with different demographic and socioeconomic variables. The study found an upward trend of NCDs from 2011 to 2017 in which overweight and obesity, hypertension, and diabetes increased by 1.8, 1.5, and 1.1 times, respectively. In 2011, people from the richest households had 5.6 higher odds of being overweight compared to the poorest, which was reduced to 3.0 in 2017. However, the increment for overweight and hypertension was the highest among the poor and manual workers from 2011 to 2017. The age‐adjusted prevalence ratio of overweight increased 4.4 times for the poorest, compared to 1.7 times for the richest. For manual workers, overweight increased 3.8 times, whereas hypertension increased by 2.4 times. The pooled analysis revealed that participants from the richest households have the highest risk of NCDs, with 3.3 times for overweight, 2.3 times for diabetes, and 1.3 times for hypertension, compared to the poorest. However, the prevalence of NCDs is rising quickly among the low socioeconomic groups in Bangladesh, narrowing the gap with higher socioeconomic groups. Our findings call for immediate policy interventions and targeted programs to curb NCD escalation in Bangladesh.

Background/Objective: Women of reproductive age (WRA) in developing countries experience a double burden of malnutrition, which adversely impacts their health and the well-being of future generations. Addressing this issue requires updated data to guide effective interventions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition among WRA in Bangladesh using recent national data. Methodology: This study analyzed data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS)-2022, which included a nationally representative sample of 8,593 WRA between 15 and 49 years. The outcome variables were malnutrition: underweight (BMI< 18.5 kg/m2), overweight (BMI 23 to<27.5 kg/m2), and obesity (BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2) stratified according to rural-urban residence. Multiple logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with malnutrition. Results: Overall, 55.5% of WRA were overweight or obese, with a significantly higher prevalence in urban areas (63.7%) compared to rural areas (52.3%). Conversely, approximately 10% of WRA were underweight, with rural areas showing a higher prevalence (11.2%) than urban areas (6.7%). Factors associated with increased odds of overweight or obesity in both urban and rural settings included older age, higher educational attainment, having more children, and residing in wealthier households. Conversely, younger age, breastfeeding mothers, lower education, and wealth levels were associated with higher odds of being underweight in both areas. Conclusion: The study clearly highlights that undernutrition and overnutrition are prevalent in Bangladesh. To address the dual burden of malnutrition among WRA in Bangladesh, targeted interventions, including nutrition education, a nutritional support program, and a healthy food and nutrition environment, are required to improve nutritional status and health outcomes. Bioresearch Commu. 11(1): 1711-1727, 2025 (January)