Health literacy and diet diversity among urban marginalized working women: evidence from two Indian cities

Purpose The paper intends to analyze the impact of Health Literacy (HL) on Dietary Diversity (DD) among working women from marginalized socioeconomic backgrounds in urban settings in India. Design/methodology/approach The data are from a primary survey in Hyderabad and Lucknow of 998 women. The various maternal health policies include a component where awareness about diet is encouraged. So, it would imply that better HL should translate to a better diet. Participants: The participants of the study were women who belong to the marginalized socioeconomic section and perform heavy physical labor. Variables measured: We assessed DD using the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance Project (FANTA) DD scale and measured HL with the Health Literacy Score (HLS)-EU-Q16 scale. Sociodemographic variables were also included in the analysis. Findings HL had a significant positive impact on DD (ß = 0.05, p-value < 0.05). However, HL did not significantly affect DD across variation in diet between the respondent and her household. It was also found that women who worked more and were able to recover from physical labor had lower DD (ß = −1.57, p-value < 0.01), possibly due to a trade-off between leisure and household chores. Telangana was found to have more DD as compared to Uttar Pradesh. Originality/value This article delves into the dietary patterns and inequality among the urban working women in a poor socioeconomic scenario, which has hitherto not been explored extensively.