Introduction
The relationships among food access, foods consumed, and nutritional status and health
in developing countries are not well understood. Between 2013 and 2018, differences
in the rural food environment and access to food, nutritional status, and body size
in the rural villages where the Pune Maternal Nutrition birth cohort was recruited
were measured and analyzed.
Methods
Food access measures included the number of shops per 1,000 population, water availability,
and distance from the highway. A total of 418 adolescents (223 boys, 195 girls) aged
18 years had diet assessed by a quantitative food frequency questionnaire; height,
weight, and waist measured; body fat percentage determined by dual x-ray absorptiometry;
and blood biomarkers (vitamin B12 and hemoglobin) assayed.
Results
By village, the number of shops per 1,000 population ranged from 3.85 to 23.29. Boys
and girls from the 2 villages with the highest food access, year-round water availability,
and closest to the highway were heavier and had higher BMI, waist circumference, and
body fat percentage compared with those from the lowest tertile of food access (p<0.05 for all, adjusted for SES). Across all villages, dietary diversity was poor
and B12 insufficiency and anemia were prevalent. With easier access to food, consumption
of staple foods decreased and outside food increased. On multivariate regression analysis,
higher BMI of the adolescents was significantly associated with higher food access,
along with higher weight at birth, socioeconomic scores, and daily energy consumption.
Conclusions
Results demonstrate a strong link between rural food access, foods consumed, and measures
of nutritional status in an undernourished, mostly vegetarian, rural population.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: January 22, 2020
Identification
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© 2019 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
