Women's Dietary Diversity in Rural Bangladesh: Pathways through Women's Empowerment

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess how women's dietary diversity is influenced by enabling resources and to quantify possible pathways through women's agency.MethodsWe analyzed cross‐sectional data collected in early 2015 from 2,600 women during the baseline survey for Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM), a cluster‐randomized controlled trial in Sylhet Division in northeastern Bangladesh. Resources were measured as years of schooling and household wealth. Agency was measured through a latent factor for decision‐making and a measured variable for mobility. Nutrition was defined as dietary diversity as measured through a standard 10‐Food Group Indicator (FGI‐10R). We used confirmatory factor analysis to create the latent factor for decision‐making and a linear mediation model to estimate indirect effects, direct effects, and total effects, adjusting for women's age.ResultsIn adjusted models, the total effect of schooling on dietary diversity was 0.042 (p<.001). The direct effect of schooling on decision‐making was 0.004 (p=.02) and of schooling on mobility 0.075 (p=.001). Neither decision‐making nor mobility had significant direct effects on dietary diversity (p=.57 and p=.23, respectively). The direct effect of schooling on dietary diversity was 0.041 (p<0.001). For household wealth, the total effect on dietary diversity was 0.104 (p<.001). The direct effect of household wealth on decision‐making was −0.018 (p<.001) and on mobility −0.074 (p=0.004). The direct effect of household wealth on dietary diversity was 0.106 (p<.001).ConclusionsIn our study population in Bangladesh, women with more schooling had higher decision‐making power, mobility, and dietary diversity. Women with greater household wealth also had higher dietary diversity but lower decision‐making power and mobility. The positive effect of schooling and household wealth on dietary diversity is not mediated by women's decision‐making or mobility. Research is needed to examine other possible pathways, potentially through other dimensions of women's agency. Additionally, programs should monitor the potential negative effects of increasing household income on women's empowerment.Support or Funding InformationGerman Federal Ministry for Education and Research; Laney Graduate School, Emory University