Table 1 Distribution (N, %) of children by selected characteristics and consumption of specific food items, food groups, and diversified dietary intake in the last 24 h, NFHS-4, India 2015–16

From: Socio-economic patterning of food consumption and dietary diversity among Indian children: evidence from NFHS-4

Selected characteristics	Number	Percent^a
Age of child (months)
6–11	25,218	34.1
12–23	48,820	65.9
Sex of the child
Male	38,740	52.3
Female	35,298	47.7
Birth order
1	28,326	38.3
2	24,612	33.2
3	11,267	15.2
4+	9,833	13.3
Mother’s education^b
No education	20,265	27.4
Primary complete	10,019	13.5
Secondary complete	35,087	47.4
High school and above	8,667	11.7
Household wealth^c
Poorest	18,070	24.4
Poorer	16,050	21.7
Middle	15,127	20.4
Richer	13,719	18.5
Richest	11,072	15.0
Religion^d
Hinduism	58,265	78.7
Muslim	12,191	16.5
Christian	1,550	2.1
Others/No religion	2,032	2.8
Caste/Tribe^e
Scheduled caste	16,108	21.8
Scheduled tribe	7,726	10.4
Other backward class	32,593	44.0
General	14,237	19.2
Missing caste	3,375	4.6
Place of residence
Urban	20,804	28.2
Rural	53,233	71.9
Consumption of specific food items
Juice	14,427	19.5
Tinned powdered/Fresh milk	29,670	40.1
Formula milk	7,699	10.4
Fortified baby food	11,586	15.7
Soup/Clear broth	12,137	16.4
Other liquids	15,768	21.3
Chicken, duck, or other birds	3,525	4.8
Bread, noodles, other grains	46,549	62.9
Potatoes, cassava, tubers	15,776	21.3
Eggs	10,651	14.4
Pumpkin, carrots, squash	14,573	19.7
Dark green leafy vegetables	21,045	28.4
Mangoes, papayas, Vit A fruits	13,651	18.4
Any other fruits	17,652	23.9
Liver, heart, other organ meat	3,809	5.2
Fish, shellfish	3,526	4.8
Beans, peas, or lentils	9,825	13.3
Cheese, yogurt, other milk products	6,999	9.5
Other solid/Semi-solid food	15,625	21.1
Any other meat	2,862	3.9
Yogurt	7,007	9.5
Specific food groups
Grains, roots and tubers	54,420	73.5
Legumes and nuts	9,825	13.3
Dairy products	40,841	55.3
Flesh foods	7,370	10.0
Eggs	10,652	14.4
Vit A rich fruits and vegetables	21,135	28.6
Other fruits and vegetables	27,128	36.7
Diversified dietary intake score (mean, 95% confidence interval)		2.26 (2.24–2.27)
Diversified dietary intake
Inadequate	56,740	76.8
Adequate	17,112	23.2

^aPercent for age, sex, birth order, maternal education, household wealth, religion, caste, and place of residence was calculated based on N = 74,038; Percent for consumption of specific food item, food group, and diversity dietary intake was calculated based on N of 73,852–74,038, depending on the outcome (see Fig. 1)
^bEducation: No education (0 years of education), primary complete: (1–5 years of education), secondary complete (6–8 years of education), high school and above (9+ years of education)
^cHouseholds are given scores based on the number and kinds of consumer goods they own, ranging from a television to a bicycle or car, and housing characteristics such as source of drinking water, toilet facilities, and flooring materials. These scores are derived using principal component analysis. National wealth quintiles are compiled by assigning the household score to each usual (de jure) household member, ranking each person in the household population by their score, and then dividing the distribution into five equal categories, each with 20% of the population
^dOthers include Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Jewish, Zoroastrian
^eScheduled castes and scheduled tribes are identified by the Government of India as socially and economically backward and needing protection from social injustice and exploitation. Other backward class is a diverse collection of intermediate castes that were considered low in the traditional caste hierarchy but are clearly above scheduled castes. General are thus a default residual group that enjoys higher status in the caste hierarchy

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Table 1 Distribution (N, %) of children by selected characteristics and consumption of specific food items, food groups, and diversified dietary intake in the last 24 h, NFHS-4, India 2015–16

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