Household Food Security and Dietary Diversity | Original Article

ABSTRACT:

In most cases, dietary diversity is quantified by counting the number of distinct foods or food categories consumed during a certain reference period. However, a variety of other groupings and categorization methods have been used, with reference periods ranging from one to fifteen days. As a result, it is difficult to establish meaningful comparisons across research. Even the few research that have examined the association between dietary variety and nutritional sufficiency in developing nations have shown that the relationship is favourable, as has been reported in wealthy countries. It has also been discovered in a number of nations that there is a constant beneficial link between dietary variety and child development. Finally, new data from a multicountry study reveals that household-level dietary variety is highly linked with per capita consumption (a proxy for wealth) and energy availability, indicating that dietary diversity may be a valuable indication of family food security. (defined in relation to energy availability). Obtaining dependable information on family spending takes a significant amount of time and needs substantial education and skills. Simplicity in dietary variety scores is becoming more popular as a measure of food security and as an indicator of nutritional sufficiency.