The Nutritional Status Comparison between the Rural and Urban Post Menopausal Women in Ayodhya District, India

Abstract

The current study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status and identify nutritional status among post- menopausal women in Ayodhya districts. The sample has comprised 150 post-menopausal women from rural and 150 from urban area aged 45-65 years. A self-structured questionnaire based on SES Agarwal 2005 was used for data collection. This study revealed educational attainment is higher in urban areas, with more women having graduate and postgraduate qualifications. However, rural areas show higher percentages of women with metric and intermediate education. Dietary intake shows that both rural and urban populations consume energy and protein slightly below to the (RDA) recommended dietary allowances, while fat intake of post-menopausal women, in rural and urban areas, exceeded the recommended level of 25 grams per day, i.e. 31.68±4.0 gm and 30.4±4.9 gm consuming fat. respectively in urban and rural area. Wheat and rice are staple foods for both groups, with minimal variation, while flaxseed consumption is higher in urban areas. Presented data has compared nutrient intake to RDA recommended dietary allowances among rural and urban area has found that energy, carbohydrates, iron, vitamin C, zinc, and phosphorus nutrient intake is low. Despite slight variations in both rural and urban areas demonstrate suboptimal nutrient intake, highlighting the need for dietary interventions to address deficiencies.