The NDHS 2008 surveys assessed nutritional status of adult women (15-49 years) on the basis of thin (BMI<18.5), normal (BMI 18.5-24.9) and overweight (BMI >25.0). On this basis it was found that the percentage of adult women who were thin in the NW states was 18.6 and 20.7 in the NE states compared with a national average of 12.2. (There is large variation in the other northern states, with the percentage of thin mothers being 8.5 in North Central States and 20.7 in North East states.)

These data are summarized in Table 9. Maternal nutritional status was not measured in the MICs survey.

Table 9 Nutritional Status Adult Women of child bearing age

Source: NDHS (2008) p. 182

The NFCNS also provided some data on nutritional status of adult women. This is summarized in Table 10. In the NW states just under one fifth of women were classified as thin, higher in the dry savannah region compared to the national average and slightly higher in ‘rural’ compared to ‘urban’.    Nationally, two thirds (68.5%) of women examined (number not available) fell within the normal range of BMI, with very similar proportions encountered across all of the agric-ecological zones (and 67.7% in the dry savannah).

Table 10 Nutritional Status Adult Women of child bearing age

 
Source: NFCNS, 2003, pp. 26-27

More recent data from the five programme states on low BMI for non pregnant women are provided by the SMART surveys (NBS 2010a, 2010b, 2011)

Table 11 Prevalence of Low BMI, non pregnant women in the five programme states according to most recent SMART surveys