Unhealthy food consumption among 20–59 years old adults in Bangladesh: Findings from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background Unhealthy food consumption is a major public health concern because of its adverse health consequences. We assessed unhealthy food (savory and fried snacks, SFS; sweet snacks, SS; and sugar-sweetened beverages, SSBs) consumption patterns and identified factors associated with this consumption among adults aged 20–59 years in Bangladesh. Methods Data from the Bangladesh Food Security and Nutrition Surveillance Project (2018–2019) were used in this study. We interviewed 4,917 men and 5,069 women (aged 20–59 years) from 82 sentinel sites, selected through multistage cluster sampling from eight administrative divisions. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive analysis and Poisson regression with robust variance were performed to report prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratio (APR). Results The weighted prevalence of weekly SFS, SS, and SSBs consumption was 57.8%, 75.2%, and 77.3% among men and 29.6%, 58.7%, and 35.3% among women, respectively. SFS, SS, and SSBs consumption were associated with education and wealth quintiles in both men and women. Being a current smoker was associated with SFS, SS, and SSBs consumption only among men. Marital status, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, overweight/obesity, high sedentary time, hypertension, and self-reported asthma were associated with SSBs consumption only among women. Age was associated with SFS consumption in both men and women. SFS and SSBs consumption was also associated with place of residence in both men and women. Inadequate fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a lower prevalence ratio with SFS consumption in both men and women, and diabetes was associated with a lower prevalence ratio with SSBs intake in men. Conclusions We found a high prevalence of SFS, SS, and SSBs consumption among 20–59 years old adults in Bangladesh. Several sociodemographic, behavioral, and clinical factors were associated with unhealthy food consumption. These factors should be considered while designing and implementing interventions to reduce unhealthy food consumption in adults. © 2025 Sharmin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.