Changes in Body Mass Index across Age Groups in Iranian Women: Results from the National Health Survey

Table 1

Prevalence (%) of underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity according to sociodemographic and smoking in a random sample of 14176 women in Iran, 1999-2000.

Variable	Underweight	Normal weight	overweight	obese
Age group (years)
20–30	10.5	57.8	22.6	9.1
30–40	4.0	42.4	33.5	20.1
40–50	3.2	35.8	35.2	25.8
50–60	2.6	35.0	37.1	25.3
60–69	4.4	41.4	36.2	18.0
Education level
Basic	5.8	44.6	30.8	18.8
Moderate	6.5	47.9	30.9	14.6
High	11.0	63.4	19.9	5.7
Economic index
Low	8.0	50.6	27.2	14.2
Lower-middle	5.5	44.2	30.9	19.4
Upper-middle	5.4	45.0	31.5	18.1
High	5.2	42.9	32.9	19.0
Workforce
Inactive	5.2	44.0	31.8	18.9
Active	13.1	61.0	20.0	6.0
Smoking status
Nonsmoker	6.1	45.9	30.5	17.5
Smoker	6.6	46.5	31.1	15.8
Marital status
Non-married	8.1	49.4	29.9	12.6
Married	5.6	45.0	30.6	18.8
Place of residence
Rural	8.3	54.4	25.8	11.5
Urban	4.8	41.0	33.2	21.0