Unveiling Diet Quality in Kerala: A Study on Healthy Food Diversity and Socio-Economic Influences

Abstract

This study explores the diet quality in Kerala by generating the healthy food diversity index and investigates the socio-economic factors that influence household consumption of nutritious foods. It relies on unit-level data obtained from three rounds of the NSSO household consumer expenditure surveys: the 50^th (1993-94), 61^st (2004-05), and 68^th (2011-12).The findings demonstrate a suboptimal diet quality in Kerala highlighting the need for improved healthy food diversity and dietary practices. Factors affecting food diversity include income, education, gender of the household head, landholding size, and consumption of milk and pulses. These results underscore the influence of socio-economic factors in shaping dietary patterns and emphasize the importance of targeted interventions to encourage healthier food choices and enhance overall nutrition.