Dietary Diversity and its Determinants among Tribal Women of Reproductive Age in Birbhum

Background Dietary diversity is a qualitative measure of food consumption. It reflects the variety of foods accessible to a household and serves as an indicator of nutritional adequacy. In India tribal populations remain among the most disadvantaged in terms of health indicators with diverse ethnicities cultures and dietary practices.Objectives This study focused on addressing the prevalence of dietary diversity and its association with selected sociodemographic variables among women of reproductive age belonging to a tribal community in a rural block of Birbhum West Bengal.Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2021 and December 2021 among 312 tribal women of reproductive age selected by multistage cluster random sampling using a predesigned pretested structured questionnaire. Dietary diversity and household food insecurity were assessed using the Minimum Dietary Diversity-Women MDD-W and Household Food Insecurity Access Scale HFIAS questionnaire. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 21.Results The median age of the study participants was 32 years IQR27-36. Among the study participants 71.2 were below middle class and 34 were underweight. The mean MDD-W score was 4.95 SD plusmn1.59 54.2 had inadequate dietary diversity and 11.6 experienced severe food insecurity. Inadequate dietary diversity was associated with moderate to severe food insecurity AOR 71.4 20.4-250 households having more than four family members AOR 10.7 2.9-38.1 and belonging to below middle-class socioeconomic status AOR 6.1 1.9-18.8.Conclusion The study revealed that age marital status family structure employment and socioeconomic status significantly influence dietary diversity.nbsp