THIN AND UNDERWEIGHT WOMEN

A BMI below 18.5 kg/m2 indicates thinness or acute undernutrition, and a BMI of 25.0 kg/m2 or above indicates overweight or obesity. A BMI below 16 kg/m2 indicates severe undernutrition and is associated with increased mortality. Low pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with poor birth outcomes and obstetric complications.

Twenty-three percent of women age 15-19 are thin, as compared with 7 percent of women age 30-39 and 6 percent of women age 40-49. Rural women are more likely to be thin (13 percent) than urban women (10 percent). Women in Gombe and Bauchi (21 percent each) are more likely to be thin than women in other states.