INTERRELATIONSHIP AMONG DIETARY DIVERSITY, SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND FOOD SECURITY IN RURAL HOUSEHOLDS
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Date
2012
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Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Abstract
A total of 90 farm households from three land holding categories viz. small (1-2 hectares), semi-medium (2-4 hectares) and medium (4-10 hectares) from village Lalton, district Ludhiana were selected to determine the interrelationship among diet diversity, socio-economic factors and food security. The households were categorized into Group I, II and III based on their land holdings. Dietary information was obtained from 133 women subjects (18-45 years old) from the selected households. A significantly (p≤0.05) higher total and per capita income was observed in Group III when compared to Group I and Group II. The total expenditure on food by Group I, II and III was 18.4, 24.4 and 20.5%, respectively. Group II expended significantly (p≤0.05) more on food than Group I. Out of 11 nutrients, four of them namely vitamins A, B1, C and calcium had Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) more than 100%, while only Vitamin B12 had NAR% less than 50%, other six nutrients namely energy, protein, vitamin B2, B3, folacin and iron had NAR laid between 51-75%. Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) for Group I, II and III was 76.2, 83.6 and 80.8%. Overall adequacy was comparable between the three groups, however, Group I had significantly (p≤0.05) lower MAR% compared to Group II. Among the dietary factors, cereals were positively correlated with DDS, FVS and MAR%. Green leafy vegetables were significantly (p≤0.05) correlated with MAR, while other vegetables were significantly (p≤0.05) correlated with DDS and MAR%. Fruits and milk and milk products showed significant (p≤0.05, 0.01) and positive correlation with DDS, FVS and MAR%. The intake of vitamin A and calcium intake was significantly (p≤0.05, 0.01) correlated with both DDS and FVS, while protein was significantly (p≤0.05, 0.01) correlated with FVS. Vitamin B12 and C showed positive correlation with DDS. Multiple regression analysis revealed that with the increase in expenditure on food, there was a significant (p≤0.1) increase in DDS but household size showed negative but significant (p≤0.1) association with DDS. The education of respondents and total expenditure on food resulted in a significant (p≤0.1) increase in FVS but there was significant (p≤0.1) decrease in FVS with the increase in household size. Significant (p≤0.05) predictors of MAR were size of land holding, total income, income from agriculture and dairy. The study concluded that there is a strong interrelationship observed between dietary diversity score (DDS), food variety score (FVS) and mean adequacy ratio (MAR) indicating that all three can be used effectively as indicators of food security. However, DDS and FVS being simple can be substituted for the more complex and time consuming MAR method in large sample studies.
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sowing, intercropping, wheats, tillage equipment, seed drilling, crops, mustard, fertilizers, land resources, chickpeas