This study aims to determine and compare the prevalence and correlates of obesity and abdominal obesity in India among participants aged 18–54 years. Data were acquired from the nationally representative National Family Health Survey 2019–21. Age and sex standardized descriptive analyses were conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity, and multivariable multilevel logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with these conditions. Gender-specific analyses were also conducted. The sample weight was adjusted throughout. The final sample size for this study was 698,286. The prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity was 13.85% and 57.71%, respectively. Older age, being female, increased educational status and increased wealth index, being married at any point, and residing in an urban area all increased the odds of both obesity and abdominal obesity. Being a resident of the North zone and having a current alcohol intake increased the odds of abdominal obesity. On the other hand, being a resident of the South zone of India increased the odds of obesity. Targeting these high-risk groups can be a strategy for public health promotion programs.

The objective of this study was to find the differences in prevalence and associated factors of underweight and overweight/obesity among Bangladeshi adults by gender, using the nationally representative Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–2018 data. To identify the factors associated with underweight and overweight/obesity in both genders, multilevel multivariable logistic regression was conducted. The prevalence of underweight was 19.79% and 15.49% among males and females, respectively. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 32.67% and 45.60% among males and females, respectively. Among both genders, participants with the highest likelihood of overweight/obesity were aged 30–49 years and 50–69 years, had the highest educational attainment up to primary and secondary level, resided in a household that belonged to the middle, richer, or richest wealth quintiles, and were currently married. On the other hand, among both genders, increased educational attainment and wealth index were inversely associated with being underweight. Health promotion programs in Bangladesh should focus on these high-risk groups to address the burden of underweight and overweight/obesity.

Toothbrushing twice daily is essential for maintaining oral hygiene, which is a cornerstone of overall health. This is particularly important during childhood and adolescence, when lifelong habits are established. Nevertheless, many children and adolescents worldwide face challenges in maintaining good oral health due to limited access to resources and education. This study used nationally representative samples from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) (2010-2019) to determine the frequency of toothbrushing among school-going students (N = 266,113) in 72 countries. The country-specific sample size ranged from 130 in Tokelau to 25,408 in Malaysia. The outcome variable was the frequency of brushing or cleaning teeth once daily within the past 30 days prior to the survey. Bivariate analysis was conducted following a descriptive study to determine the frequency of toothbrushing or cleaning across different age groups (≤12, 13, 14, 15, ≥16 years), sexes, World Health Organization (WHO) regions, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita quintiles. The overall proportion of males to females in the sample was 50.9:49.1. In 45 countries or territories (62.5%), the proportion of participants who reported brushing their teeth at least once a day was above 90%. Participants from 10 countries or territories (13.9%) reported never or rarely brushing their teeth. In 69 countries or territories (95.8%), male students were more likely than female students to never or rarely brush their teeth. The highest rate of individuals who never or rarely brush their teeth (32.1%) was reported in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In comparison, the Region of the Americas had the highest frequency of brushing twice or more daily (82.9%). Educational interventions focused on dental health implemented in schools and aimed at early adolescents have the potential to promote the formation of healthy habits, which may lead to improved well-being over both short and long terms.

This study aims to find out the prevalence of the American Heart Association’s (AHA)’s cardiovascular health metrics and associated socio-demographic factors. A secondary analysis of the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach to surveillance survey 2018 (STEPS 2018) data was conducted. Ideal Cardiovascular Health (ICH) was defined as the presence of 5–7 ideal metrics as defined by the AHA. Design-adjusted multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the associated factors of ICH. In total, 5930 respondents were included in our analysis, and 43.1% of the participants had ICH. The odds of ICH decreased with age [compared to 18–29 years old individuals, 30–49 years: AOR (Adjusted Odds Ratio): 0.4; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.4–0.5; 50–69 years: AOR: 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6–0.8], and higher educational attainment (compared to those who received no formal education, being educated up to primary level: AOR:0.7; 95% CI: 0.6–0.8; being educated up to secondary level: AOR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.4–0.5; being educated up to college and higher: AOR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.3–0.5). Compared with female and urban residents, the odds were 30% and 40% less among male and rural residents, respectively. The public health promotion programs of Bangladesh should raise awareness among high-risk groups to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Health campaign integration is a key implementation strategy outlined by the World Health Organization to achieve universal health coverage. This scoping review synthesizes the evidence on Integrated Health Campaigns (IHC) in the field of immunization in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) regarding the most common strategies, facilitators and barriers. Four reviewers followed a systematic approach to identify, screen and analyse relevant articles. The team used three search engines (PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar) to identify peer-reviewed journal articles as well as select institutional websites for grey literature publications. Full-text articles using any study design and across any time frame were included. Data were extracted following a predefined matrix, analysed deductively and presented in a narrative synthesis. Thirty articles (20 academic and 10 grey) were included in the final review. All studies included identified IHCs as effective when planning or implementation is integrated. The common strategies were: using resources efficiently in remote locations; using national immunization days to maximize impact; targeting specific age groups by selecting intervention sites that are frequented by that age group; building community ownership over the integrated program; and integrating programs that already share common elements. The key facilitators were: closing the gap between services and communities; planning, coordination and resource management both before and during integration; cost-effectiveness; and utilization of pre-existing infrastructure. The common barriers included seemingly optimized initial cost to appear feasible only in the short term and additional responsibilities on the field staff. This review finds IHCs a common practice in immunization and identifies gaps in evidence on evaluation; indicating the need for additional research. Strong evidence accounts IHCs to increase coverage, improve community acceptance of health services and strengthen the community models of health service delivery.