Consumption pattern and health implications of convenience foods among working women

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Date
2020
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
A research study was carried out to analyse the consumption pattern and health implications of convenience foods among 120 women (25-40 years), out of which 60 were working (WG) and 60 were non-working women (NWG) with monthly family income ranging from ₹1-2 lakhs. Health and nutritional status were assessed through different parameters such as anthropometry, biochemical, food and dietary intake and Healthy Eating Index. The required information was collected through a pre-tested questionnaire by personal interview method. It was found that majority of working women (41.7 percent) spent more than 30 percent of their total food expenditure on convenience foods, whereas among non-working women, it was 8.3 percent. Convenience foods were mostly consumed as snacks by NWG subjects (70 percent) whereas as breakfast (56.7 percent) by WG subjects. Majority (43.3 percent) of the WG subjects preferred Ready to eat (RTE) products. On the contrary, majority of NWG subjects (40 percent) preferred Ready to drink/ serve (RTS) products. Working women were found to consume bakery products, RTE snacks, Ready to Cook (RTC) products and beverages thrice a week; sandwich spreads and frozen foods twice a week; sweets rarely whereas non-working women consumed these products fortnightly/ rarely. Time convenience, taste, usefulness, diverse cuisine, affordable price and re-usability were found to be the most influential factors among working women. The average body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (W/H) and total lipid profile was found to be significantly (p≤0.05) higher among working women. The consumption of energy, carbohydrates, fat, saturated fat and sodium was significantly (p≤0.05) higher among working women. Convenience foods contributed 24.2 percent to total energy intake among WG subjects, whereas it was 7.9 percent among NWG subjects. BMI was found to be significantly (p≤0.05) correlated with consumption of bakery products, RTE snacks, sandwich spreads and frozen foods. Total cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly correlated with consumption of all categories of convenience foods. Although Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score was significantly (p≤0.01) higher among non-working women (75±7.2) as compared to working women (52.2±10.8), but improvement was needed among both the groups. Excessive consumption of convenience foods was found to be one of the major factors for higher incidence of obesity and other non-communicable diseases among working women.
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