Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the participants
| Characteristic | |
|---|---|
| Age (years) (mean ± SD) | 26.59 ± 5.61 |
| Age group | |
| 15–19 | 184 (6.94) |
| 20–29 | 1655 (62.38) |
| 30–39 | 739 (27.86) |
| 40–49 | 75 (2.83) |
| Geographic location | |
| Barisal | 778 (29.33) |
| Dhaka | 636 (23.97) |
| Khulna | 1239 (46.70) |
| Women's education | |
| None | 255 (9.61) |
| Primary incomplete | 385 (14.51) |
| Primary complete | 435 (16.40) |
| Secondary incomplete | 1178 (44.40) |
| Secondary complete or higher | 400 (15.08) |
| Household head's education | |
| No | 771 (29.06) |
| Primary incomplete | 487 (18.36) |
| Primary complete | 370 (13.95) |
| Secondary incomplete | 694 (26.16) |
| Secondary complete or higher | 331 (12.48) |
| Gender of household head | |
| Female | 392 (14.78) |
| Male | 2261 (85.22) |
| BMI (kg/m2) (mean ± SD) | 22.45 ± 3.72 |
| BMI categories | |
| Underweight (<18.5 kg/m2) | 355 (13.38) |
| Normal (18.5–22.9 kg/m2) | 1212 (45.68) |
| Overweight (23–27.4 kg/m2) | 833 (31.40) |
| Obese (≥27.5 kg/m2) | 253 (9.54) |
| Anaemia | |
| Non‐anaemia (Hgb ≥ 120 g/L) | 1592 (60.01) |
| Anaemia (Hgb < 120 g/L) | 1061 (39.99) |
| Anaemia category | |
| Non‐anaemia (Hgb ≥ 120 g/L) | 1592 (60.01) |
| Mild (Hgb 110–119 g/L) | 661 (24.92) |
| Moderate (Hgb 800–109 g/L) | 392 (14.78) |
| Severe (Hgb < 800 g/L) | 8 (0.30) |
Note: n = 2653 for all results. Values are n (%) unless otherwise stated.
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; Hgb, haemoglobin; SD, standard deviation.