Appraisement of dietary and nutrient intake of rural women of district Kapurthala, Punjab

The present study was undertaken to assess average daily dietary and nutrient intake of 90 rural women of three blocks of district Kapurthala, Punjab through a structured questionnaire. Dietary assessment of all the subjects was done using 24-hour recall method of diet survey. The results revealed lower intake of fruits (13.1%), root and other vegetables (32.8%), pulses (44.5%), cereals (90.5%), milk and milk products (92.9%) and sugar and jaggery (97.5%) as compared to recommended dietary intake (RDI) by the Indian Council of Medical Research. The intake of green leafy vegetables (129.5%) and fats and oils (108.5%) was found to be more than the RDI. As the diets of rural women were inadequate with respect to some food groups it resulted in lower intake of calories, protein, β-carotene and iron. Thus there is need to educate the rural women regarding various nutrients present in the diet and rich sources of these nutrients to prevent nutritional deficiency.