1. 1&4Scientists, 2Principal Scientist & Head, 3&5Senior Scientists, 6PrincipalScientist, Division of Agricultural Extension, 7Scientist, Division of Agricultural Economics,
ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-12
Role of pulses in Nutritional Security: A Dietary Diversity Study in Uttar Pradesh
V.Sangeetha1, Premlata Singh2, Satyapriya3, Girijesh Mahra4, V.Lenin5, Monika Wason6 and P.Venkatesh7
V.Sangeetha, Scientist,
Division on Agril.Extension,
IARI, New Delhi
Nutrition status of Men, Women and Children
Trends in share of calorie intake from food groups ( )
Introduction
Category
BMI Range
Men (%)
(n=30)
Women (%)
Girls (%)
Boys (%)
Very severely underweight
<15
3.0
7.0
9.0
Severely underweight
15 to 16
5.0
6.0
14.0
10.0
Underweight
16 to 18.5
20.0
35.0
30.0
Normal (healthy weight)
18.5 to 25
46.0
43.0
39.0
Overweight
25 to 30
26.0
19.0
8.0
Obese Class I (Moderately obese)
30 to 35
0.0
Obese Class II (Severely obese)
35 to 40
Obese Class III (Very severely obese)
over 40
Nutrition status of people is decided by the dietary habits of people of a region and it has substantial implications for the quality of life of its population. ‘Dietary habit’ indicates the types, variety and quality of food intake and is highly dependent on the cropping system of the region. Healthy dietary habits are measured by the number of food items included in a food basket which is called ‘dietary diversity’. Pulses occupy an important place in dietary diversity especially in vegetarian diets. According to NSSO report, monthly per capita consumption of pulses was 0.58 kg in rural areas and 0.69 kg in urban areas. Whereas the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) was 2.40 kg. It shows that actual consumption is less than RDA.
Objectives
Nutrition status of people is decided by the dietary habits of people of a region and it has substantial implications for the quality of life of its population. ‘Dietary habit’ indicates the types, variety and quality of food intake and is highly dependent on the cropping system of the region.
Knowledge level (%) of men, women and children
Materials and Methods
The Body Mass Index (BMI) was chosen to record the nutritionals status of the respondents. The necessary information of weight and height of the respondents were also recorded with electronic weighing scale and measuring tape. The BMI was calculated by using the following formula
BMI = Weight in kilograms/ Height in meters2
IDDS was calculated by using Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO, 2013) methodology which consisted of sixteen food groups namely, cereals, white tubers and roots, Vitamin A rich vegetables and tubers, dark green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, Vitamin A rich fruits, other fruits, organ meat, flesh meat, eggs, fish and sea food, legumes, nuts and seeds, milk and milk products, oils and fats, sweets, spices, condiments and beverages. These sixteen groups were eventually combined into 12 food groups to arrive at IDDS indicator. Individual scoring method is more suited when there is more consumption of outside foods or snacks. In this study, 24-hour recall period was used to record quantity and number of food items consumed by respondents.
Simpson Index of Dietary Diversity (SIDD) is a measure of diversity which tells as the richness and evenness of the food groups we consume. The SIDD was estimated using following formula:
Where, Pi is the proportion of ith food item in consumption of all food items by members of the household. The daily estimates were subsequently averaged to get the final SIDD estimate. SIDD index ranges between 0 and 1, whereas ‘0’ indicates complete specialization and ‘1’ indicates more diversity. Separate scores of SIDD were obtained for different individual groups (men, women, boys and girls) for comparison.
Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 ( ).
Individual Dietary diversity-based on food groups
The reason for low intake of pulses in diet was shifting cropping pattern. The farmers in the study area gradually moved away from pulses due to wild animals’ problems and low profitability.
Interventions by Indian Agricultural Research Institute
Individual dietary diversity score (IDDS) is used as a measure of the nutritional quality of an individual diet
Simpson Index of Dietary Diversity (SIDD)
Results
Under-nutrition in India (%)
Nutrition Indicators
NFHS II
( )
( )
Stunting (children <3) 51 45
Wasting (children <3) 20 23
Underweight (children <3) 43 40
Anaemia (<11.0g/dl) (children 6-35 months) 74 79
Vitamin A deficiency (children <5) NA 57
Women with BMI <18.5 36 33
Men with BMI <18.5 28
Women with anaemia 52 56
Men with anaemia 24
Trends in share of protein intake from food groups ( )
Conclusion
It concludes that production is highly influencing consumption pattern of rural households, policy efforts should be directed to promote diversified cropping pattern to ensure nutritional security of rural households.