Household Food Security and Women's Dietary Diversity in the Rural and Semi-Urban Population of Muzaffargarh, Punjab

Abstract

Objectives: To carry out a thorough study about food security status as well as household dietary diversity for the female population of rural areas of Muzaffargarh, Punjab. Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted for design. Structured questionnaires that were translated into the local tongue were used to conduct the survey. Data on household dietary diversity scores, which represented the range of foods eaten by households, were collected through a survey. A modified version of the household food insecurity access scale was also used to categorize homes according to their level of food security. Study settings: Rural and Semi-urban areas of district Muzaffargarh Punjab, Pakistan. Population: The study includes women of the rural population, more precisely the women of childbearing age in district Muzaffargarh, Punjab, Pakistan. Results: Among the households surveyed, 38% were classified as food secure while the remaining 62% were food insecure. Of the group of people who were food insecure, 21% were slight, 23% were moderately, and 18% were severely food insecure. A gap of 2.03 points separated the food secure group's mean Nutritional Diversity Score of 9.12(with a standard deviation of 2.33) from the food insecure group's mean Dietary Diversity Score of 7.09 (with a standard deviation of 2.43). Overall, it was discovered that the average score for the 33% of households with the largest dietary diversity was 2.68 points higher than the average score for the overall population examined. Conclusion: The study found that better food security was linked to higher levels of dietary diversity, greater household income, and smaller family size. To promote better health outcomes, it is recommended that interventions targeting dietary diversity and household income should continue to be prioritized by regional health leaders.