Diets, Nutrition, and Poverty - The Oxford Topic of Food, Politics, and Society - page 331

Fats
Between 1993 and 2004, fat intake rose from 31.5 gm to 35.4 gm in rural India, that is,
by 12%. There was a slight reduction in fat intake from cereals and milk/milk products/
ghee/butter, and the main contributor to the higher intake was vanaspati-oil. Pulses/
nuts/dry fruits also contributed a slightly higher amount.
Urban India also recorded increased intake of fats—from 42.1gm in 1993 to 47.5gm in
2004, that is, by 13%. As in rural India, much of the increase came from Vanaspati-oil.
Contribution of pulses/nuts/dry fruits also rose by a small amount.
Changes in Diets
Underlying these changes in nutrient intakes from different food commodities are the
changes in their consumption. In rural India, there was a sharp reduction in cereal consump-
tion—10% between 1993 and 2004. The intake of sugar decreased by 6% between 1993 and
2004. Pulses/nuts/dry fruits/others recorded a sharp drop of 44% between 1993 and 2004.
By contrast, intakes of Vanaspati-oil and eggs rose more than moderately, as did meat/fish/
poultry, fruits and vegetables in 2004. Reduction in cereal intake was lower in urban India
(7%). Pulses/nuts/dry fruits recorded a sharp reduction of 37%, whereas sugar recorded a
moderate decline. Milk/ghee/butter, meat/fish/poultry, and fruits and vegetables recorded
small increases in 2004, and eggs and Vanaspati-oil recorded moderately higher intakes.
Dietary patterns of Indian households changed over this period; relative prices are of
course important, and elasticities of demand varied across food categories. An increase
in the price of milk, for example, leads to a negligible reduction in its demand—a case of
highly inelastic demand. The demand for cereals, meat, and vegetables is highly respon-
sive to price changes; the responsiveness of demand for fruits and pulses is moderate;
and that of Vanaspati oil and eggs is small. The expenditure elasticity is the smallest for
cereals. Our analysis is based on the 1993 and 2004 household surveys conducted by the
NSS.12 The demand for each of the commodities analyzed is inversely related to its own
price, consistent with demand theory, with varying elasticities.13 These variations reflect
changing food preferences over time—preferences for taste and variety.
Household characteristics, such as size, proportion of adults, and caste affiliation have
significant impacts on the demand for various food commodities. The links between
caste affiliation and demand for food commodities are interesting. In comparison to
Scheduled Castes, Others (a residual caste group) demanded larger amounts of milk,
Vanaspati oil, fruits and vegetables, and lower amounts of meat and cereals. This may in
part reflect cultural differences among these categories. There are also significant differ-
ences between urban-rural samples, pointing to urban lifestyles driving dietary changes
(fatty and starchy convenience foods).
How do we measure diversity in the diet? One approach is to count the number of dif-
ferent food items consumed. Because this does not allow for their relative importance in
food expenditure, we have followed a different approach, which relies on their shares in