(P07-049-20) Dietary Practices of Men in Bangladesh: Evidence from the National Nutrition Surveillance

Objectives: Bangladesh has a paucity of information about the dietary practices of adult men. In the recently completed round of the national nutrition surveillance (NNS 2018-2019), we explored the dietary practices of adult men and factors associated with insufficient dietary diversity (IDD) and insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables.

Methods: In the NNS, between October 2018 and 2019, we collected data from from 82 clusters (57 rural, 15 non-slum urban, and 10 slums) selected using multistage cluster sampling. In these clusters we interviewed and took physical measurements of 4,904 20-59 years old men (3,471 in rural, 832 in urban, and 601 in slum). We used minimum dietary diversity for women (MDD-W) questionnaire to collect dietary data. IDD was defined as consumption of < 5 food groups out of 10 food groups, and  insufficient fruits and vegetables intake was defined as consumption of < 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in the past 24 hours.

Results: The prevalence of IDD was 53% (54% in rural, 42% in non-slum urban, and  56% in slum areas) among the adult men. In the past 24 hours, 73% consumed meat/fish/poultry, 28% consumed eggs, and 22% consumed dairy products. The consumption of dark green leafy vegetables, vitamin A rich fuits and vegetables, other vegetables, other fruits was 34%, 22%, 73%, and 37%, respectively. Among the respondents, 27% had savory snacks, 52% had sweets, and 75% had sugary drinks. The prevalence of insufficient fruits and vegetables intake was 86% (83% in rural, 92% in non-slum urban and 93% in slum areas). IDD was associated with education (partial secondary education: Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.67, p< 0.001;  ≥10 years of schooling: AOR 0.48, p< 0.001), and sufficient intake of fruits and vegetables (AOR 0.82, p=0.022). On the other hand, insufficient fruits and vegetables intake was associated with IDD (AOR 1.23, p=0.014), hypertension (AOR 0.77, p=0.020) and adequate physical activity (AOR 0.46, p< 0.001).

Conclusions: More than half of the men aged 20-59 years consume an inadequately diversified diet in Bangladesh and 86% had insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables. This study identified a number of factors  associated with IDD, and insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables. The government of Bangladesh should address them while developing interventions to improve nutrition.

Funding Sources: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Bangladesh