Background
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the rising prevalence of overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases co-exists with the high burden of under-nutrition. The paucity of data on adulthood overweight and obesity, disaggregated by socio-demographic characteristics and in rural settings in SSA calls for research. We determined the prevalence of underweight, overweight/obesity and associated factors among adults in peri-urban and rural Uganda.

Methods
A cross-sectional study of 1210 randomly selected adults aged?=?18 years was conducted in Iganga-Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site in eastern Uganda in 2013. Height, weight and socio-demographic variables were assessed. Overweight was defined as BMI?=?25.0-29.99 kg/m2, obesity?=?30 kg/m2 and overweight/obesity?=?25 kg/m2. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with overweight/obesity.

Results
Of the participants, 7 % were underweight (8.1 % of men; 5.9 % of women, p?=?0.99); 17.8 % were overweight (12.4 % of men; 23.1 % of women, p?
Conclusions
Overweight/obesity was prevalent among adults. Overweight/obese was associated with being female, being aged 35 years and older, residing in a peri-urban area and having a higher SES. The time has come to develop interventions to prevent and control overweight/obesity.