DIETARY DIVERSITY AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG RURAL LABOURERS IN SOUTH INDIA

Settipalli Sravani^1*Venu Lenin^1*Pratibha Joshi^2*Satyapriya Satyapriya^1*MRINMOY RAY³Sitaram Bishnoi¹Monika Wason¹P. Punitha²K. Raghavendra Chowdary⁴M. Chenna Madhava⁵Padigapati Venkata Naga Sindhuja⁶K Shravani^1,7*Sweety Mukherjee¹SEEMA KUJUR¹Sakaray Vaishnavi¹Rajat Kumar Nath¹

• ¹Division of Agricultural Extension, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
• ²Centre for Agricultural Technology Assessment and Transfer (CATAT), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
• ³Agriculture Knowledge Management Unit, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
• ⁴Programme coordinator, Agricultural Extension, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kurnool, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, India
• ⁵Department of Extension Education, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
• ⁶Division of Agricultural Economics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
• ⁷Agricultural Extension, ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, East Sikkim, India, East Sikkim, India

Malnutrition continues to be a major global health challenge affecting millions of vulnerable populations across countries. Despite their critical contribution to agricultural productivity, limited evidence exists regarding the dietary diversity and nutritional status of rural labourers in South India. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 320 rural labourers. Respondents were selected using a multistage random sampling and those who are actively engaged in farming and household activities. Data were collected through a structured interview schedule and collected data entered in Excel and analyzed using R Studio (v4.2.2). Dietary diversity score was computed based on 24-hour recall method. Nutritional status was analyzed through body mass index (BMI), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and calf circumference. The application of Pearson's chi-squared test determined the association between dietary diversity and nutritional status at a significance level of p < 0.05. The findings of this study revealed that the dietary diversity among rural labourers was limited, with heavy reliance on locally available staple foods. In Andhra Pradesh, majority (63.75%) of men and (78.75%) of women had medium dietary diversity; however, men had relatively better diversity, with 21.25 per cent attaining high dietary diversity compared to only 1.25 per cent of women. Comparatively, in Telangana, the majority of men (68.75%) and women (52.50%) were also in the medium dietary diversity category, though a larger portion of women (30.00%) were in the lowest category, while 17.50 per cent of women had high dietary diversity, which reduced the gender gap that existed in Andhra Pradesh. A significant association was observed between dietary diversity and nutritional status of rural labourers (p < 0.05). The study highlights the low dietary diversity and the existence of undernutrition among rural labourers in South India. Strengthening the need for nutrition education, promotion of household and community nutrition gardens, and enhancing awareness on balanced diets which could help improve dietary intake. These efforts can be the basis for the development of targeted interventions that will not only change food consumption pattern but also improve the nutritional status of rural labourers.