Do female-led decisions on food shopping and preparation in the household maintain diet diversity? Examining food safety and nutritional awareness and gender roles in consumer households in Nepal

Abstract

Food and nutrition security remain significant challenges in developing countries. We investigated food and nutritional awareness in Nepal and examined gender and household-level diet diversity. We used primary survey data collected in 2022 from 604 randomly selected consumer households from five major metropolitan areas of Nepal. We conducted inperson interviews with an available adult representative from each sampled household. 52% of respondents were female, and 62% of the respondents indicated themselves as the head of the household. Along with a household-level outlook on food and diet, we focused on fresh produce in shopping decisions and food safety awareness assessment. We created two measures of household-level diet diversity indices— first, diet diversity score (HDDS) and second, dietary meal composition of a typical week (WD). We found no significant differences in mean HDDS and WD scores between male- and female-headed households. However, the average HDDS and WD scores for the top 25th quantile of the score distribution were higher in male-headed households. Interestingly, the households where female members primarily buy fresh produce had significantly lower HDDS; females primarily preparing meals at home rarely went for meals away from home. Finally, using a set of questions on food safety on fresh produce, the male head of the household appears to have a greater understanding or awareness of food safety. We found significant positive effects of income and awareness on HDDS. Given the roles women play in food systems and households, our study suggests awareness and educational programs emphasize the ensured participation of women.