Household dietary diversity highly associated with socioeconomic status and livestock rearing practices: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Household dietary diversity (HDD) allied with nutrient adequacy
and thus drawn significant attention. The previous investigations on
determinants of HDD in Bangladesh are scare and showed
inconsistent results. The purpose of the study was to determine the
prevalence and factors of HDD in Bangladeshi rural households. A
community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in selected
areas in Bangladesh. A total of 307 participants interviewed through
a questionnaire survey. The HDD score derived from a 24-h recall of
food intake of 12 food group. The nonparametric tests and multiple
logistic regression model applied to know the association between
HDD and other covariates. The mean HDD score was 7.20 (SD
1.20). The prevalence of low, medium and high HDD scores was
2.6%, 32.6%, and 64.8% respectively. Family income, nutritional
knowledge, and maternal BMI were associated with HDD. People
with lower income (OR: 0.24; CI: 0.141, 0.412) and less nutrition
awareness (OR: 0.08; CI: 0.016, 0.343) had lower HDD scores. The
HDD score was lower (OR: 0.54; CI: 0.193, 0.504) in underweight
and higher (OR: 3.81; CI: 1.370, 10.576) in obese people than
normal-weight people. HDD is still overlooked but a public health
problem in Bangladesh. This study identified some key
socioeconomic factors of HDD. More attention may be given on
maternal nutritional knowledge targeting the low-income households
to improve the HDD in the study area.