Food Insecurity and Dietary Intake among Rural Indian Women: An Exploratory Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Jyotsna Kaushal¹  Gaganjot Kaur²  Preethi John³  Paige van der Pligt⁴  Alice Sims⁵  FionaH McKay⁵ 

[1] Centre of Water Sciences, Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Punjab 144417, India;Chitkara Business School, Chitkara University, Punjab 144417, India;Chitkara School of Health Sciences, Chitkara University, Punjab 144417, India;Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;The School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia;

关键词: food security;    India;    women;    rural;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph18094851

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Food insecurity is an important contributor to health and a factor in both underweight and malnutrition, and overweight and obesity. Countries where both undernutrition and overweight and obesity coexist are said to be experiencing a double burden of malnutrition. India is one example of a country experiencing this double burden. Women have been found to experience the negative impacts of food insecurity and obesity, however, the reasons that women experience the impact of malnutrition more so than men are complex and are under-researched. This current research employed a mixed methods approach to begin to fill this gap by exploring the dietary intake, anthropometric characteristics, and food security status of rural Indian women. In total, 78 household were surveyed. The average waist measurement, waist to hip ratio, and BMI were all above WHO recommendations, with two thirds of participants categorized as obese. Contributing to these findings was a very limited diet, high in energy, and low in protein and iron. The findings of this research suggest that the rural Indian women in this study have a lack of diet diversity and may be at risk of a range of non-communicable diseases.

【 授权许可】

Unknown