Introduction - Studies have identified a particularly high risk of obesity among women who rely on food assistance. Following a description of body mass levels, the objective of this study was to analyze the socioeconomic factors associated with obesity in this population. Methods - Socioeconomic factors were collected during a face-to-face interview, while anthropometric measurements were taken at food assistance facilities following the interview or during a clinical and laboratory examination at a health center. Factors associated with the risk of obesity were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Results - The analyses included 668 women who were weighed and measured (65.4% at the food assistance centers, 34.6% at health centers). The prevalence of overweight, including obesity, was 71.9% (95% CI: [65.9–77.1]), and that of obesity was 35.5% [30.1–41.1]. The risk of obesity was independently associated with age (for each additional year: ORa=1.02 [1.00–1.05], p