Abstract
Purpose
 The socioeconomic conditions of urban waste collectors are vulnerable. However, their nutrition vulnerability remains undocumented. Here we focused on dietary practices and the nutritional status of waste collectors of Dhaka city in Bangladesh.
 Methods
 A cross-sectional design was employed that included 130 waste collectors from 15 different sites of Dhaka city. The 24-hours recall method, body mass index (BMI) and BMI for age Z-score were used to determine dietary practices and nutritional status respectively. Chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to observe the associations and their risk factors.
 Results
 The majority (58.5%) of the waste collectors were normal by BMI whereas 36.2%, 4.5%, and 0.8% were underweight, overweight, and obese respectively. The prevalence of underweight was higher among males and respondents less than 18-years old (P<0.001). The dietary pattern of the respondents was poor. Meals were mainly rice and vegetable-based. Consumption of meats, eggs and fruits was low. Only 18.4% and 16.92% respondents were found to consume meat and eggs at least once a day, respectively. In addition, 78.5% consumed insufficient foods in their main meals, 9.2% had skipped meals and 13.1% consumed stale food and food waste regularly. Consumption of less than three main meals a day and food of poor dietary quality were risk factors of underweight.
 Conclusion
 Findings demonstrated that waste collectors in Dhaka city had poor nutritional status which was primarily associated with inadequate dietary intake. Increased quality and quantity of food in the diet, which could be achieved through appropriate health and nutritional support, are needed to overcome the situation.
Highlights
Rapid urbanization in recent decades leads to huge waste heaps, mainly generated from households, and the food, industry and medical sectors, in the big cities of Bangladesh, and it requires extensive effort for waste management (Dewan et al, 2012)
Household waste generation in Dhaka city was found to be associated with household size, income, environmental concern and willingness to pay for waste management system (Afroz et al, 2009; Afroz et al, 2011)
Waste collectors are deprived of policy benefits; this study focused on the household waste collectors (HWCs) and street waste collectors (SWCs) through a nutritional lens
Summary
Rapid urbanization in recent decades leads to huge waste heaps, mainly generated from households, and the food, industry and medical sectors, in the big cities of Bangladesh, and it requires extensive effort for waste management (Dewan et al, 2012). Waste collectors throughout the world live with poor socioeconomic status, work in unhygienic environments, and struggle for maintaining a minimal standard of life (Walker, 2008; Samson, 2009). Waste collectors are usually migrants to urban areas, earn less than other population groups, and often stay homeless which collectively causes them to be highly vulnerable with respect to health and nutrition (Bagchi et al, 2017). They have been found to have poor knowledge and practice about solid waste handling which increases the chance of their exposure to hazardous materials or chemicals (Azfar et al, 2018; Nandimath et al, 2019). They suffer from various health problems such as gastrointestinal infections, loss of appetite, respiratory symptoms, and musculoskeletal disorders (Ivens et al, 1997; Thorn et al, 1998; El-Wahab et al, 2014; Patil et al, 2017; Habybabady et al, 2018)
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