Objective: To determine the distribution and sociodemographic associations of
BMI (kg/m2
) among adults aged $40 years living in Timor-Leste.
Design: BMI was calculated for participants of a population-based cross-sectional
survey.
Setting: Urban and rural Timor-Leste.
Subjects: Adults aged $40 years living in Timor-Leste.
Results: Of those enumerated, 2014 participated (89?5%). Male gender, rural domicile,
older age, illiteracy and source of household income were associated with BMI ,
18?5kg/m2 on multivariate analysis. Female gender, urban domicile and literacy were
associated with BMI $25?0 and $30?0kg/m2
. Adjusting for gender, age and domicile,
and extrapolating to those aged $40 years across Timor-Leste, 9?9%, 36?0%, 6?6%
and 0?8% had BMI ,16?0, ,18?5, $25?0 and $30?0kg/m2
, respectively.
Conclusions: At this time, being ‘underweight’ or ‘severely thin’ is more prevalent in
the Timorese adult population than being ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’.