Overweight and obesity among Jordanian women and their social determinants

This study aimed to explore the social determinants associated with obesity among Jordanian women using the national data from the Jordan Population and Family Health Survey 2009. We found the overall prevalence of overweight was 30% and obesity was 38.8% among Jordanian women aged 15-49 years. Results of multivariate analysis showed that age; residing in the south region of Jordan, marriage at an early age, parity, wealth status and smoking were statistically significant predictors of overweight and obesity among women in Jordan. Our results show that there is an urgent need to implement health programmes to prevent and control overweight and obesity at the national level. Social determinants should be taking into consideration in designing and implementing these programmes.