Dietary Intake and Rural-Urban Migration in India: A Cross-Sectional Study
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Implication
Cross-sectional study finds rural-to-urban migration increases total energy, sugar, and produce intake in Indian adults, indicating mixed effects on cardiovascular disease risk.
Key Points
- To evaluate whether rural-to-urban migrants experience shifts in macronutrient and food group intake compared to rural non-migrants and to assess if migrant diets resemble those of urban residents.
- Assessed dietary intake across 6,509 participants in India—comprising rural-to-urban migrants, their rural-dwelling siblings, and urban residents along with their urban-dwelling siblings—using an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.
- Compared macronutrient and major food group intake across rural, migrant, and urban groups and validated findings via sibling-pair analyses.
- Median daily energy intake increased significantly across rural, migrant, and urban cohorts for men (2,731 vs. 3,078 vs. 3,224 kcal; p<0.001) and women (2,153 vs. 2,504 vs. 2,644 kcal; p<0.001), with corresponding increases in total fat, protein, and carbohydrates (p<0.001).
- Migrant and urban individuals consumed up to 80% more fruits and vegetables (p<0.001) and up to 35% more sugar (p<0.001), alongside higher meat and dairy intake (p<0.001), with no observed association between diet and duration of urban residence.
Cite This Study
Bowen et al. (2011) studied this question.