Attitudes toward Traditional Food and Food Intake of Indonesian Rural Women

The inheritance of traditional food unique to a region and the diversification of food for improved nutrition and health are new global challenges.This study examines the awareness of traditional food and food intake among women in an Indonesian rice-farming village, revealing the following: First, rice and rice dishes, potatoes, vegetables, beans, and fish, which were healthy and easy to obtain, were perceived as traditional foods that have long been consumed in their region and ethnic group, while wheat products, meat, and milk and dairy products were perceived as modern food; their excessive consumption was associated with poor health.Four orientations toward food were observed: co-eating, health, low-cost, and local.Second, the participants' expenditures and food costs, and whether they produced their own agricultural products, livestock, or fish, differed.The mean frequency of consumption of potatoes was lower than that of meat.The median frequency of consumption of some traditional food groups such as rice and rice dishes, beans, vegetables, and fish were higher than those of some modern food groups such as wheat products and milk and dairy products.Third, the group with high food diversity had higher mean scores indicating local orientation, a higher median frequency of consumption of vegetables and beans, and a higher percentage of raising livestock than the group with low food diversity.Continuing to carry on traditional food customs to improve nutrition and promote food diversification is necessary.As the sample size was small and the survey was conducted during a specific period of the year, increasing the sample size to clarify the position of the survey cases in Indonesia and examining the utilization of livestock and its relation to food diversity is needed.