Effects of migration on food consumption patterns in a sample of Indian factory workers and their families.

OBJECTIVES

To study the impact of migration on food consumption among Indian factory workers and their siblings and spouses.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess diet using an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative FFQ from which intake of 184 commonly consumed food items was obtained.

SETTINGS

Participants recruited from factory sites in Bangalore, Lucknow, Nagpur and Hyderabad.

SUBJECTS

The sample comprised 7049 participants (41·6 % female), and included urban, migrant and rural groups.

RESULTS

Thirteen food items were eaten by the greatest proportion of individuals on a daily basis. These were all indigenous foods. The proportion of people consuming tandoori roti, dal with vegetables, potato and ghee on a daily basis was highest in the urban sample, intermediate in the migrant group and lowest in the rural group (P ≤ 0·01). The proportion of individuals consuming Western food on a weekly basis followed a similar trend.

CONCLUSIONS

The diet of this sample is predominantly indigenous in nature, irrespective of migration status, with the prevalence of daily Western food consumption being minimal.