Six-dimensional food security index across states in India: Does it associate with malnutrition among older adults?

IF 5.6 1区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Security Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI:10.1007/s12571-025-01527-7

Akancha Singh, Aparajita Chattopadhyay

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Abstract

This study used six dimensions of food security (availability, access, utilization, stability, agency and sustainability) to calculate a state-level food security index for states in India. The index was bifurcated into six components, which were further sub-divided into a total of 15 sub-indices. Employing data from several sources, this study examined food security at the state and household level to see if it has an impact on nutrition status among older adults in India. Although the general status of food security in states might be known, our study provides a nuanced and comprehensive assessment by utilizing all six dimensions of food security. This multi-dimensional approach allows for a more detailed understanding of the factors contributing to food security. Our findings suggest that the Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were the most food secure states. These states also performed well across several sub-indices of food security, the most important being per capita food grain availability, per hectare yield of grains, cropping intensity and storage capacity. Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh were the least food secure states, with their poor performance being attributable mostly to high rates of inflation and low per capita net state domestic product. Insights from this study are helpful for policymakers to identify targeted interventions. Nevertheless, results from our study explained only a small proportion of variation in both underweight and overweight among older adults at the state and household levels, meaning that an index of food security informs little about nutritional security among older adults in states in India. Instead, the maximum variation in both overweight and underweight was explained by individual level factors, such as age, gender and marital status and also household food security. Therefore, addressing nutritional inadequacies in India requires interventions not only in the food system, but also in other sectors such as health, sanitation, education and the economy.

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印度各邦的六维食品安全指数：它与老年人营养不良有关吗？

本研究使用粮食安全的六个维度（可得性、获取、利用、稳定性、代理和可持续性）来计算印度各邦的国家级粮食安全指数。该指数分为六个组成部分，再细分为15个子指数。这项研究利用来自多个来源的数据，调查了邦和家庭层面的粮食安全状况，看看它是否对印度老年人的营养状况有影响。虽然各国粮食安全的总体状况可能是已知的，但我们的研究通过利用粮食安全的所有六个维度提供了细致入微的全面评估。这种多维方法可以更详细地了解促进粮食安全的因素。我们的研究结果表明，旁遮普邦、哈里亚纳邦和北方邦是粮食最安全的邦。这些邦在粮食安全的几个分项指数上也表现良好，最重要的是人均粮食供应量、每公顷粮食产量、种植强度和储存能力。贾坎德邦、奥里萨邦和恰蒂斯加尔邦是粮食安全最不安全的邦，它们的糟糕表现主要是由于高通胀率和较低的人均国内生产总值。本研究的见解有助于决策者确定有针对性的干预措施。然而，我们的研究结果仅解释了邦级和家庭级老年人体重不足和超重的一小部分差异，这意味着食品安全指数对印度邦级老年人的营养安全知之甚少。相反，超重和体重不足的最大差异可以用个人层面的因素来解释，比如年龄、性别、婚姻状况以及家庭粮食安全。因此，解决印度的营养不足问题不仅需要在食品系统中进行干预，还需要在健康、卫生、教育和经济等其他部门进行干预。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Food Security FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY-

CiteScore

14.00

自引率

6.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Food Security is a wide audience, interdisciplinary, international journal dedicated to the procurement, access (economic and physical), and quality of food, in all its dimensions. Scales range from the individual to communities, and to the world food system. We strive to publish high-quality scientific articles, where quality includes, but is not limited to, the quality and clarity of text, and the validity of methods and approaches. Food Security is the initiative of a distinguished international group of scientists from different disciplines who hold a deep concern for the challenge of global food security, together with a vision of the power of shared knowledge as a means of meeting that challenge. To address the challenge of global food security, the journal seeks to address the constraints - physical, biological and socio-economic - which not only limit food production but also the ability of people to access a healthy diet. From this perspective, the journal covers the following areas: Global food needs: the mismatch between population and the ability to provide adequate nutrition Global food potential and global food production Natural constraints to satisfying global food needs: § Climate, climate variability, and climate change § Desertification and flooding § Natural disasters § Soils, soil quality and threats to soils, edaphic and other abiotic constraints to production § Biotic constraints to production, pathogens, pests, and weeds in their effects on sustainable production The sociological contexts of food production, access, quality, and consumption. Nutrition, food quality and food safety. Socio-political factors that impinge on the ability to satisfy global food needs: § Land, agricultural and food policy § International relations and trade § Access to food § Financial policy § Wars and ethnic unrest Research policies and priorities to ensure food security in its various dimensions.