Anthropometric status of Oromo women of childbearing age in rural southwestern Ethiopia

A community based, cross-sectional survey was undertaken of the anthropometric status of Oromo, non-pregnant women of child bearing age in Kersa subdistrict, southwest Ethiopia. The main purposes of this investigation were to determine normative anthropometric standards and to identify their important determinants. A structured questionnaire was administered by interviewers and anthropometric measurements were completed on 473 non-pregnant women randomly selected and stratified by 5 year age categories from 8 peasant associations. Women in this study sample were light with a mean (SD) weight of 46.9 (5.3) kg. Approximately three quarters weighed less than 50 kg and 34 (7%) less than 40 kg. Women's height averaged 155.5 cm with nearly 20% under 150 cm. The mean (SD) BMI was 19.4 (1.9) kg/m$ sp2$ and 35% of the women had a BMI lower than 18.5 kg/m$ sp2$. Means for all anthropometric measurements fell below the 10th percentile of the standard, NCHS reference for black women. No consistent predictor was found across the various anthropometric outcomes. In particular, all anthropometric outcomes were stable across age categories. The relationship between these anthropometric measures and adverse maternal or perinatal outcomes need to be validated