Nutrition transition is a shift in eating and disease
patterns towards diet-nutrition-related noncommunicable
diseases (NR-NCDs). This shift in many
developing countries has been accompanied with
changes in behaviours, lifestyles, diets, physical inactivity,
smoking and alcohol consumption. In addition to the
burden of under-nutrition, nutrition transition has caused
a sudden rise in overweight/obesity-related chronic
diseases in developing countries. Little research has been
done in Pakistan to explore nutrition transition, and its
associated nutrition challenges. The current study
attempted to investigate the socio-economic,
environmental and demographic determinants of rise in
obesity among women of reproductive years (15-49
years) in Pakistan. A review of related published literature
for a period of 10 years (2005-2015) was carried out. Also,
data from National Nutrition Survey (NNS-2011) and
Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS 2012-13)
was reviewed and used to supplement the published
researches from Pakistan. For this purpose, a computerbased
search was performed on PubMed and PubGet to
retrieve relevant articles. The major socio-economic and
environmental risk factors contributing to the risk of
obesity among Pakistani women were sedentary lifestyle,
lack of awareness, higher rates of urbanisation along with
shift in dietary pattern from high-fibre diet to low-fibre,
and high-calorie diet. The results of this review highlight
the need for designing and implementing of national
nutrition policy focussed on improving the awareness of
determinants and consequences of nutrition-related
illness in Pakistan.