International Research Journal of Social Sciences______________________________________ ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 4(7), 1-11, July (2015) Int. Res. J. Social Sci. International Science Congress Association 1 Regional Patterns of Food intake and Nutrients in Rural India: Evidence from NSS 66th round Abha Gupta and Pushpendra Kumar2 Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, INDIAInternational Institute for Population Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in Received 6th April 2015, revised 27th May 2015, accepted 20th June 2015 Abstract In the post reform period, India has witnessed a drastic change in food consumption pattern. There has been a fall in cereal intake particularly in coarse cereals whereas consumption of other food items (vegetables, fruits, oil and milk products) has not increased significantly especially in the diet of rural population. This change in food consumption has led to a drop in average per capita calorie and protein intakes which are one of the widely used indicators of nutrition. Besides, India’s performance on child anthropometric measures such as height for age, weight for height and weight for age is even worse than the sub Saharan countries of Africa. Thus, poor nutrition level in India remains an issue of wide public concern and debate. Most of the studies deal with nutrition at macro level and there are dearth of them which examine regional pattern of food and nutrient intake. This study which is based on National Sample Survey (NSS) 66thConsumer Expenditure Schedule (2009-10) attempts to exhibit food consumption and nutrition (in terms of energy, protein, carbohydrates, minerals, fat, vitamin C, iron and calcium) distribution across 85 NSS regions. Findings of the study show that Indian diet is monotonous based on cereals and milk products which are major source of all nutrients. Regions with higher intake of cereals and milk appear to consume most of the nutrients. It is also evidenced that there are large regional gaps found between northern, southern and north-eastern NSS regions on nutrition parameters in rural India. However, findings of the study need to be correlated with other similar studies as consumption of nutrients not only determines nutrition security.Keywords: Food consumption, nutrition distribution, NSS regions, rural India.Introduction Food security issue has an important place in health policy across the globe. Although, world has enough to feed everyone yet around 854 million people around the world are undernourished. In India, a number of issues have evolved in the concept of Food Security in last two decades such as economic liberalization, its effect on agriculture and food security in 1990s, establishment of World Trade Organization (WTO) and its Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), climate change, rising food prices, financial crises, public distribution system, rotting of huge food stock in the storage despite acute hunger and poverty, ICDS/Midday meal/MNEREGA/food for work schemes, Right to Food and recent National Food Security Bill. These developmental issues provided opportunities and challenges in achieving food and nutrition security in the country. India as a fast developing country has shown major improvements on some development front. Hunger and poverty level have declined much since 1994. This decline is much higher in rural areas as compared to urban areas. After economic reforms in early 1990s, India’s food consumption pattern has also changed, diversifying mainly from coarse cereals to rice/wheat and other food items. This is believed to have been resulted by improvement in income, change in taste and preferences, better health facility, hygiene etc3-6. This change is mainly seen in rural areas where improvement in rural infrastructure make other food and non-food items available to the rural households and further reduction in manual work due to farm mechanization may have resulted in less need of cereals. On economic front, Indian economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Real GDP per head grew at 3.95 percent a year from 1980 to 2005, and at 5.4 percent a year from 2000 to 2005. Despite recent developments on income and consumption fronts, India fails to perform better on nutrition parameters. Majority of its population has monotonous diet constituting of cereals only and less attention is paid to other food items such as fruits, vegetables and meat rich with micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals) which has resulted into high prevalence of hidden hunger in the country. Indian literature on food and nutrition is based on energy intake at macro level neglecting the importance of other micro-nutrients. This paper aims to bridge this research gap and attempts to i. examine regional pattern of consumption of major food groups, ii. analyze share of macro (energy, protein, fat) and micro nutrients (vitamin, minerals, carbohydrate, iron and calcium) from food groups, iii. identify regions with higher/lower intake of nutrients in rural India. International Research Journal of Social Sciences____________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 4(7), 1-11, July (2015) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 2 Data and Methodology This paper has used unit level data from National Sample Survey (NSS),66th Consumer Expenditure Schedule (Type 1) conducted during 2009-10. NSS Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CES) are primary source of data on various indicators of level of living of population both at state and national levels. These are carried out by Government of India under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. These surveys have been conducted quinquennially from 27th round (Oct. 1972-Sept. 1973) onwards. The NSS 66th round (July 2009-June 2010) was the eighth and latest in the series. This latest round (66th) has a special feature of collecting data on three reference periods. In this paper, 30 days reference period is taken. This Consumer Expenditure round (66th) covers 7428 villages, 5263 urban blocks spread over entire country. It is canvassed in 100855 households, out of them 59119 sample is rural and 41736 are urban households. This schedule provides information on quantity and value of more than 140 food items which can be converted into nutrition values. The standard nutrition units have been taken from Nutritive Value of Indian Foods. All food items have been grouped into 9 categories which are i. cereals and cereal substitutes, ii. roots and tubers, iii. sugar and honey, iv. pulses and nuts and oilseeds, v. vegetables and fruits, vi. meat, eggs and fish, vii. milk and milk products, viii. oils and fats, ix. miscellaneous food, food product and beverages. The intakes of them have been converted into calories, protein, fat, minerals, carbohydrate, calcium, iron and vitamin C. Per capita per day nutrients have been estimated by dividing household food consumption by household size and number 30. In the study, National Sample Survey (NSS) regions are taken into account in order to show regional pattern. Regions are hierarchical domains below level of state/ UTs in NSS. Groups of districts having similar geographical features are considered as regions in NSS. There are 87 regions identified and demarcated in NSS by clubbing districts. Present study considers 85 regions excluding Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep regions (figure-1). For showing regional pattern of nutrient intake across NSS regions in rural India, bi-variate analysis and Geographical Information System (GIS) (Arc GIS version 9.3) have been used. Composite index covering eight nutrients has been constructed using the following formula: Observed value - Minimum value Maximum value - Minimum value Results and Discussion Table 1 represents the National Sample Survey Regions with their code according to NSS 66th round. Figure-1 Regions Code according to National Sample Survey, 2009-10, (see table 1) International Research Journal of Social Sciences____________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 4(7), 1-11, July (2015) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 3 Table-1 National Sample Survey Regions with their CodesStates Code NSS regions Jammu and Kashmir 11 Mountainous 12 Outer Hills 13 Jhelum Valley Himachal Pradesh 21 Central 22 Trans Himalayan and Southern Punjab 31 Northern 32 Southern Chandigarh 41 Chandigarh Uttarakhand 51 Uttarakhand Haryana 61 Eastern 62 Western Delhi 71 Delhi Rajasthan 81 Western 82 North Eastern 83 Southern 84 South Eastern 85 Northern Uttar Pradesh 91 Northern Upper Ganga Plain 92 Central 93 Eastern 94 Southern 95 Southern Upper Ganga Plain Bihar 101 Northern 102 Central Sikkim 111 Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh 121 Arunachal Pradesh Nagaland 131 Nagaland Manipur 141 Plains 142 Hills Mizoram 151 Mizoram Tripura 161 Tripura Meghalaya 171 Meghalaya Assam 181 Plain Eastern 182 Plain Western 183 Cachar Plain 184 Central Brahmputra Plains West Bengal 191 Himalayan 192 Eastern Plains 193 Southern Plains 194 Central Plains 195 Western Plains Jharkhand 201 Ranchi Plateau 202 Hazaribagh Plateau States Code NSS regions Orissa 211 Coastal 212 Southern 213 Northern Chhattisgarh 221 Northern Chhattisgarh 222 Mahanadi Basin 223 Southern Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh 231 Vindhya 232 Central 233 Malwa 234 South 235 South Western 236 Northern Gujarat 241 South Eastern 242 Plain Northern 243 Dry Areas 244 Kachchh 245 Saurashtra Daman and Diu 251 Daman and Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli 261 Dadra and Nagar Haveli Maharashtra 271 Coastal 272 Inland Western 273 Inland Northern 274 Inland Central 275 Inland Eastern 276 Eastern Andhra Pradesh 281 Coastal Northern 282 Coastal Southern 283 Inland North-Western 284 Inland North Eastern 285 Inland Southern Karnataka 291 Coastal and Ghats 292 Inland Eastern 293 Inland Southern 294 Inland Northern Goa 301 Goa Kerala 321 Northern 322 Southern Tamil Nadu 331 Coastal Northern 332 Coastal 333 Southern 334 Inland Pondicherry 341 Pondicherry Major Source of Nutrients and Food Consumption across regions: This section tries to find out percentage share of average per capita per day (PCPD) intake of nutrients from food groups and average PCPD consumption of major food groups across NSS regions. Table 2 clearly shows that all nutrients except fat, calcium and vitamin C have their major share from cereals particularly wheat and rice products. Cereals provide 68 percent calorie, 70 percent protein, 65 percent minerals, 82 percent carbohydrate and 77 percent iron. These results clearly show that rural population is generally dependent on cereals for their most of the nutrients. Besides, major source of fat is edible oil (54 percent) and milk products (27 percent). Milk International Research Journal of Social Sciences____________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 4(7), 1-11, July (2015) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 4 consumption also ensures proper calcium (59 percent) in the body whereas vegetables and fruits are rich with vitamin C (72 percent). Consumption of cereals and milk ultimately fulfills major requirements of nutrients in the body as far as Indian rural diet is concerned. However, a diversified diet is required to fight against modern diseases and to lead a healthy and active life. It is studied that Indian diets are mainly based on cereals avoiding the importance of other food items especially fruits and vegetables. Since cereals are the major source of most of the nutrients in Indian diet, regions leading in cereal intake also show a higher proportion of most of the nutrients. Hence, analyzing food consumption pattern across regions becomes essential to determine intake of different nutrients. Table 3 describes consumption of food group items across major regions of India. This table clearly shows that among all major food groups, cereals constitute a major share followed by milk and vegetables in the diet of rural population. On an average, PCPD cereal intake in rural India is 380 grams followed by 172 grams of milk and 154 grams of vegetables. Lowest consumption is shown by meat products (18 grams) and fruits (16 grams). This pattern is common across all regions with little variations. However northern region covering states like Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh consume higher intake of milk leaving far behind other regions. This has resulted into higher intake of all nutrients in this region.Table-2 Percent Share of PCPD intake of different Nutrients from major food groups, 2009-10 in rural IndiaFood Items Calories (Kcal) Protein (gm) Fat (gm) Minerals (gm) Carbohydrate (gm) Calcium (mg) Iron (mg) Vitamin C (mg) Rice and Rice Products 54.56 42.97 23.93 23.25 56.99 19.46 19.09 0 Wheat and Wheat Products 38.04 48.89 56.4 66.96 35.83 63.5 67.47 0 Coarse Cereals 7.4 8.14 19.67 9.78 7.19 17.04 13.44 0 Cereal Total 68.01 69.49 12.16 65.64 82.34 22.08 77.35 0 Root and Tubers 2.94 2.07 0.21 4.65 3.66 3.38 2.75 24.02 Sugar and Honey 4.89 0.05 0 0.27 6.85 0.58 0.27 0 Pulse, Nuts and Oilseeds 4.4 10.29 3 7.7 3.89 4.09 8.41 0.15 Vegetables and Fruits 1.58 2.55 0.74 7.18 1.22 6.33 6.72 72.44 Meat Products 0.61 3.83 0.58 1.85 0.02 4.44 2.45 0.05 Milk Products 7.21 10.75 27.1 12.7 2.02 59.12 2.05 3.34 Edible Oil 9.04 0 54.1 0 0 0 0 0 Miscellaneous Products 1.33 0.97 2.1 0 0 0 0 0 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Source: Authors’ calculation based on NSS 66th Consumer Expenditure unit level data.Table-3 Regional Distribution of average PCPD food consumption (in kg) in rural India, 2009-10 Food Products North Central West East North East South Total Rice and Rice Products 0.068 0.154 0.182 0.270 0.408 0.292 0.215 Wheat and Wheat Product 0.274 0.246 0.128 0.134 0.025 0.030 0.164 Coarse Cereals 0.156 0.086 0.120 0.051 0.038 0.086 0.106 Total Cereal 0.368 0.394 0.368 0.396 0.424 0.350 0.380 Pulses 0.021 0.025 0.025 0.017 0.017 0.024 0.022 Milk (litre) 0.350 0.167 0.143 0.108 0.087 0.128 0.172 Sugar and Products 0.040 0.024 0.029 0.013 0.016 0.022 0.024 Edible oil 0.020 0.018 0.025 0.016 0.014 0.019 0.019 Meat Products 0.011 0.012 0.012 0.017 0.024 0.025 0.018 Vegetables 0.133 0.159 0.139 0.199 0.177 0.123 0.154 Fruits 0.018 0.016 0.017 0.018 0.017 0.013 0.016 Source: Authors’ calculation based on NSS 66th Consumer Expenditure unit level data. International Research Journal of Social Sciences____________________________________________________ISSN 2319–3565Vol. 4(7), 1-11, July (2015) Int. Res. J. Social Sci.International Science Congress Association 5 Regional distribution of major Nutrients: Estimating nutrients at regional level is important as it can assess sufficiency of food supplies and accessibility of different food items rich with micro-nutrients to meet population’ nutrition needs. Present section attempts to analyze regional distribution of average PCPD intake of nutrients across NSS regions which would help to identify regions with higher probability of nutrition deficiency.Calories: Distribution of average PCPD calorie intake across NSS regions shows (figure 2A) that there is a higher concentration of calorie intake in northern and north western regions which include Central, Trans Himalayan and Southern in Himachal Pradesh; Northern and Southern Punjab; Eastern and Western Haryana. Out of 5 regions of Rajasthan, 4 are ranked in high calorie regions, out of 5 regions of Uttar Pradesh 3 are calorie sufficient. Madhya Pradesh which is one of the biggest states in terms of size shows very poor energy level. It has just one region namely Malwa which has high caloric value out of 6 regions. Similarly Maharashtra, fast developing state shows just one region (Inland Central) with high calorie intake out of 6 regions. Andhra Pradesh shows poor energy level as its 4 out of 5 regions are having low calorie values. Our results show that south India is suffering from lower average PCPD calorie intake. Although it may be due to distinct food consumption pattern or diet diversification yet calories are the major nutrients which also help in consumption of other nutrients. A lower consumption of calories either due to lower intake of calorie rich foods or distinct food culture would lead to severe nutritional problems. In north east India, only Tripura and a region of Assam (Plain Eastern) consume higher intake of average PCPD calories compared to other north eastern regions which ranks this region very low in nutrition. Lower level of calorie intake (less than 1800 kcal) is seen in central, eastern and southern regions. This calorie level is even less than 1810 kcal which is recommended by Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for India. Most of the regions of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Manipur and Karnataka show very low level of calorie intake. Protein: In rural India, average PCPD calorie intake is closely related to average PCPD protein intake. Regions showing lower calorie value also exhibit lower intake of protein. This has been caused by lower consumption of cereals as these food items are rich source of both calorie and protein in Indian diet. However, regions consuming higher intake of pulses and milk products show higher intake of protein despite their low calorie intake value (figure 2B). For example, south eastern Rajasthan has moderate consumption of calories but is ranked in high protein intake mainly because of higher pulse and milk consumption. Similarly, outer hills of Jammu and Kashmir show lower calorie but higher protein intake. On the other hand, there are the regions with higher calorie intake but are showing less protein consumption such as Inland north eastern part of Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Coastal and northern part of Orissa. This situation is caused by higher cereal but lower pulse and milk intake. Figure-2B clearly shows that average per capita per day intake of protein is much higher in northern and north western regions whereas southern and eastern regions suffer from very low protein intake. Among the southern regions are Inland North-Western, Inland Southern (Andhra Pradesh, total 5 regions); Coastal Northern, Southern, Inland (Tamil Nadu, total 4 regions); Inland Northern, Inland Eastern (Karnataka, total 4 regions) regions. In eastern regions, Chhattisgarh, southern Orissa, central, southern and eastern parts of West Bengal, Meghalaya show very low level of average PCPD protein intake. All these regions also have lower calorie intake. Thus lower cereal, pulse and milk consumption is dominant in these regions which could be resulted by diet diversification, distinct food culture and inadequate supply of food items or lower accessibility. To examine exact cause of poor calorie and protein intake in the regions is beyond the scope of this paper and needs further research. Fat: If we analyze average PCPD fat intake across NSS regions, Figure 3A shows concentration of high fat intake in western and north western regions namely Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, western and central Rajasthan and Inland northern and central parts of Maharashtra. Eastern and north eastern belt of rural India consumes lower level of oil as a result fat intake is very low in these regions. The southern region shows a mix picture of oil consumption as parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have low fat intake whereas other parts of south India prefer to consume oil resulting moderate intake of fat.Minerals: As we have already discussed in earlier paragraphs that average PCPD calorie intake which is mainly derived from cereals and pulses is found low in southern and eastern parts of India, average per capita per day mineral intake is also low in these regions. Figure 3B exhibits that there is a belt of low mineral intake in southern and eastern regions whereas northern, western and parts of central regions utilize higher intake of minerals. Bihar, parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have moderate mineral intake. It is interesting to note that regions with high average PCPD calorie and protein intakes also show higher average PCPD mineral consumption which ultimately establishes a strong link between calorie/protein rich food items with source of minerals in rural India.