A Case Study of Level and Variation in the Knowledge about Healthy Diet among Homemakers

Abstract

In majority of the households, decision on items to cook is done predominantly by housewives and thus, their knowledge about healthy food is a key factor in deciding food consumption pattern and hence, overall family health. The current study, based on data collected through a semi-structured interview schedule from 84 currently married women of the district of Balasore in India, selected through a multi-stage sampling process, aimed at analyzing the level of and factors associated with women’s awareness about healthy diet and eating practices. It was observed that affluent, educated and urban respondents were more aware of healthy eating habits, while the large chunk of economically and educationally disadvantaged samples were backward in their awareness level and more seriously; such respondents were highly complacent about the healthiness of their diet. All it asks for is a need and behavior based nutrition education intervention especially in rural areas of the district. Address for correspondence: Nihar Ranjan Rout Reader in Population Studies P. G. Department of Population Studies, Fakir Mohan University, Nuapadhi, Balasore, 756 020, Odisha, India Mobile: 9437271296 E-mail:niharfmu@gmail.com INTRODUCTION In most part of the developing world, involvement of women in making important household decisions is usually negligible. However, many empirical studies conducted in India suggest that in majority of the households, decision on what to be cooked for daily meals is done predominantly by daughter in laws/women (Routray et al. 2017). Thus, in a given economic structure and environmental setup, nature of food consumption will be largely controlled by the women. As such, knowledge of women about healthy food and eating practices will be a key factor in deciding the actual food consumption pattern and hence, overall health status of the family. It is well known and documented that diet and nutrition play an important role in maintaining health of individuals. As such, diet quality and dietary patterns are poor across much of the world and contribute substantially to the non-communicable disease burden (WHO 2013 cited by Arena et al. 2015). Both medical as well as socio-economic surveys all around the globe have revealed that physical inactivity and poor diet were significantly associated with poor selfreported health (Liu et al. 2017). In fact, in the words of Shelton (2005), people’s health is affected greatly by what they do and do not eat. Although researchers like McCrickerd and Forde (2016) have found that the sensory properties of foods and beverages are operational before, during and after an eating event and thus guide our preference, what we eat and what we do not is in fact, based on the decision affected by several interlinked factors. As listed by Bellisle (2005), such factors include biological determinants (hunger, appetite, and taste), economic determinants (cost, income, availability), physical determinants (access, education, and skill), social determinants (culture, family), psychological determinants (mood), as well as attitude, beliefs and knowledge about food. Amongst all, awareness and knowledge about healthy diet and eating practice appear to be one of the most important factors, from public health point of view. It is generally believed that providing information about healthy diet can result in a positive change in the perception and attitude of the respondents towards healthy diet consumption (Verbeke et al. 2009). Further, it is possible that Stud Home Com Sci, 13(1-2): 1-10 (2019) DOI: 10.31901/24566780.2019/13.1-2.332 © Kamla-Raj 2019 PRINT: ISSN 0973-7189 ONLINE: ISSN 2456-6780