Global prevalence of underweight and overweight/obesity among migrant workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Herlin Ajeng Nurrahma, Hidayat Arifin, Anung Ahadi Pradana, Herry Susanto, Chiu-Li Yeh, Ya-Ling Chen, Hitoshi Shirakawa, Kuei-Ru Chou, Suh-Ching Yang · 2026
Read Global prevalence of underweight and overweight/obesity among migrant workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Herlin Ajeng Nurrahma, Hidayat Arifin, Anung Ahadi Pradana, Herry Susanto, Chiu-Li Yeh, Ya-Ling Chen, Hitoshi Shirakawa, Kuei-Ru Chou, Suh-Ching Yang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13178055.txt.
Description
Migrant workers face unstable jobs, disrupted food access, and thin health care, a recipe for malnutrition in both directions. Herlin Nurrahma and co-authors pooled in 2026 the world evidence on body weight in this population.
Thirty studies covering over 135,000 workers fed the analysis. About five percent were underweight, while a striking forty-four percent carried overweight or obesity. Underweight clustered among internal migrants in poorer regions, above all South Asia. Excess weight clustered among international migrants in rich countries. Sex, destination, income level, and marital status all shifted the rates. The authors urge that labor and migration policy build in food and screening measures.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Herlin Ajeng Nurrahma, Hidayat Arifin, Anung Ahadi Pradana, Herry Susanto, Chiu-Li Yeh, Ya-Ling Chen, Hitoshi Shirakawa, Kuei-Ru Chou, Suh-Ching Yang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 60 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |