Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a crisis that jeopardized food consumption and dietary diversity. This study aimed to: (1) investigate relationship between COVID-19 and women's and children's diets in India; (2) examine how this varies by socioeconomic status and mothers' vegetarianism; and (3) assess...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Wiley
2026
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177248 |
| _version_ | 1855530436301684736 |
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| author | Pant, Anjali Chakrabarti, Suman Headey, Derek D. Singh, Nishmeet Nguyen, Phuong Hong |
| author_browse | Chakrabarti, Suman Headey, Derek D. Nguyen, Phuong Hong Pant, Anjali Singh, Nishmeet |
| author_facet | Pant, Anjali Chakrabarti, Suman Headey, Derek D. Singh, Nishmeet Nguyen, Phuong Hong |
| author_sort | Pant, Anjali |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic caused a crisis that jeopardized food consumption and dietary diversity. This study aimed to: (1) investigate relationship between COVID-19 and women's and children's diets in India; (2) examine how this varies by socioeconomic status and mothers' vegetarianism; and (3) assess whether mobility restrictions during India's national lockdown influenced these dietary changes. The analysis drew on data from India's National Family Health Survey 2015–16 and 2019–21, focusing on 11 states surveyed before and during COVID-19 (N = 567,727 women, 141,905 children). COVID-19 exposure was defined as interviews after 24 March 2020 (national lockdown). Outcomes included child feeding practices and women's food consumption and dietary diversity. The impact of COVID-19 on diets was estimated using a difference-in-difference model; effect of mobility reduction on diets was examined using linear regression. All analyses were adjusted for confounders, interview month, state fixed effects, and sampling weights. Results showed that COVID-19 exposure was linked to significant declines in child feeding practices (−6.9 percentage points [pp] for minimum dietary diversity, −5.0 pp for minimum acceptable diet, and −6.1 pp for fruit consumption) and women's diet (−5.7 pp for dietary diversity and green vegetable consumption). While magnitude of impact varied across socioeconomic sub-strata and mothers’ vegetarianism status, the differences were not statistically significant. The diets of women and children were greatly impacted by mobility reduction. COVID-19 has worsened the diets of women and children in India. More research is needed on the impact of relief measures to strengthen food safety nets nationwide. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace177248 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1772482026-01-02T15:32:42Z Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 Pant, Anjali Chakrabarti, Suman Headey, Derek D. Singh, Nishmeet Nguyen, Phuong Hong vegetarianism dietary diversity nutrition child feeding COVID-19 surveys The COVID-19 pandemic caused a crisis that jeopardized food consumption and dietary diversity. This study aimed to: (1) investigate relationship between COVID-19 and women's and children's diets in India; (2) examine how this varies by socioeconomic status and mothers' vegetarianism; and (3) assess whether mobility restrictions during India's national lockdown influenced these dietary changes. The analysis drew on data from India's National Family Health Survey 2015–16 and 2019–21, focusing on 11 states surveyed before and during COVID-19 (N = 567,727 women, 141,905 children). COVID-19 exposure was defined as interviews after 24 March 2020 (national lockdown). Outcomes included child feeding practices and women's food consumption and dietary diversity. The impact of COVID-19 on diets was estimated using a difference-in-difference model; effect of mobility reduction on diets was examined using linear regression. All analyses were adjusted for confounders, interview month, state fixed effects, and sampling weights. Results showed that COVID-19 exposure was linked to significant declines in child feeding practices (−6.9 percentage points [pp] for minimum dietary diversity, −5.0 pp for minimum acceptable diet, and −6.1 pp for fruit consumption) and women's diet (−5.7 pp for dietary diversity and green vegetable consumption). While magnitude of impact varied across socioeconomic sub-strata and mothers’ vegetarianism status, the differences were not statistically significant. The diets of women and children were greatly impacted by mobility reduction. COVID-19 has worsened the diets of women and children in India. More research is needed on the impact of relief measures to strengthen food safety nets nationwide. 2026 2025-10-21T17:48:41Z 2025-10-21T17:48:41Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177248 en Open Access Wiley Pant, Anjali; Chakrabarti, Suman; Headey, Derek; Singh, Nishmeet; and Nguyen, Phuong Hong. Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Article in Press. First available online on October 10, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.70104 |
| spellingShingle | vegetarianism dietary diversity nutrition child feeding COVID-19 surveys Pant, Anjali Chakrabarti, Suman Headey, Derek D. Singh, Nishmeet Nguyen, Phuong Hong Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 |
| title | Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 |
| title_full | Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 |
| title_fullStr | Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 |
| title_short | Women's dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst COVID19 in India: Findings from National Family Health Surveys, 2016–2021 |
| title_sort | women s dietary diversity and child feeding practices amidst covid19 in india findings from national family health surveys 2016 2021 |
| topic | vegetarianism dietary diversity nutrition child feeding COVID-19 surveys |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177248 |
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