Dietary Diversity by Provinces and Administrative Divisions with Rural-Urban Divide in Pakistan
Dietary Diversity by Provinces and Administrative Divisions with Rural-Urban Divide in Pakistan
Abid Hussain1*, Bilal Khan Yousafzai1 and Muhammad Ishaq2
ABSTRACT
One of the biggest factors affecting human health and nutrition is diet. The study is based on Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey (PSLM)/ Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2018-19 and PSLM 2013-14 with an objective to determine dietary diversity in Pakistan by provinces and administrative divisions with rural urban divide. The study has been carried out to fill the research gap, as the available literature on food security and dietary diversity in Pakistan primarily focuses on women and children under the age of five. This study is an attempt to cover geographical location wise determination of the dietary diversity in Pakistan. Changes in monthly per capita consumption of high value agricultural commodities from year 2013-14 to 2018-19 has also been determined. The findings of the study are important to suggest recommendations for food dietary improvement in the country. These can be used to develop policies and programs to target administrative divisions with low dietary diversity. It is found that consumption pattern of the people has changed to a substantial extent during the study period. Meat consumption has increased a little in urban areas (1.0%) and decreased to a considerable extent in rural areas (9.3%). Egg consumption has decreased by 30.3% and 24.6 % in urban and rural area, respectively. While, rise in consumption of both fruits and vegetables have occurred over time by more or less half kilogram per capita per month for each. Fruits and vegetable consumption increased by 43.3% and 14.8%, respectively. In the same way, monthly consumption of milk and milk products has increased by 0.55 kg (7.2%) and 0.37 kg (4.5%) per capita in urban and rural areas of the country, respectively. As per PSLM/ HIES 2018-19, people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have the most diversified food pattern followed by Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. Over time i.e., from 2013-14 to 2018-19, household dietary diversity has improved in all the provinces, except Sindh where a little downfall is occurred in it. Household dietary diversity in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh provinces improved the most in Quetta, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Larkana divisions, respectively.
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