Rural-urban migration dynamics and double burden of malnutrition among women across 29 low and middle income countries

Abstract

The double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is a significant public health issue in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), resulting from complex socioeconomic, demographic and nutrition transitions. This study examined the association between internal migration and DBM among women across LMICs, focusing on direction, recency, and age at migration. Using the latest Demographic and Health Survey (2010–2023), data on body mass index, migration status, and covariates were extracted from 232,449 women aged 15–49 years in 29 countries. Migration status was categorised as urban non-migrants, rural non-migrants, urban-to-rural, or rural-to-urban based on prior and current residences. Recency and age at migration were categorised as recent/non-recent (within the last five years or earlier) and childhood/adulthood (before or after age 19). Multinomial multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate odds ratio for each migrant groups relative to urban and rural non-migrants, respectively. Further analyses examined the association between DBM and recency, and age at migration, among migrants. Overall, 32.1 % of women were overweight/obese while 9.7 % were underweight. Urban-to-rural migrants accounted for 9.5 % of the sample, and rural-to-urban migrants constituted 7.0 %. Rural-to-urban migrants had 21.0 % higher odds of being overweight/obese (95 % CI: 1.15–1.29) compared to rural non-migrants. Urban-to-rural migrants showed 9.0 % lower odds of being underweight (95 % CI: 0.85–0.99) compared to urban non-migrants. Among migrants, recency of migration and age at migration were found to be significantly associated with DBM. This study emphasises the need for targeted public health strategies to enhance immediate and distal determinants of DBM in urban and rural settings in LMICs. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd