Volume 5, Number 2
October 1999

Intrahousehold Distribution of Food and Micronutrient Status in Bangladesh

This research project focuses on three policy issues: whether commercial vegetable and polyculture fish production improve micronutrient status; whether the production of these foods improves the status of women in household decisionmaking; and whether a link exists between quantified food intakes and improved micronutrient status.

To see how the adoption of new vegetable and fish production technologies affects women, the research team looked at time allocation issues, specifically the labor inputs to rice, vegetable, and fish production. They found that women spend far less time on rice production than on vegetable production. Although vegetable production has an impact on women, fish ponds do not.

The new production is profitable but contributes only a small percentage to household income. Rice contributes three times as much as fish, which yields about 10 percent of total income. Other crops, farm equipment rentals, and so on make up the rest.

The data on the intrahousehold distribution of food is divided into three categories: cereals (cheap, but not a good source of micronutrients), nonstaple plants, and animal and fish (high in micronutrients, with the ability to help make micronutrients in other foods more available). The data show low animal and fish intake at all income levels, probably because animals and fish cost twenty times more than cereals as a source of calories. Households that move from low- to high-income levels double their total expenditure on food, but their expenditure on cereals barely increases. Thus higher incomes mean that households will spend more on micronutrient-rich foods.

The team used the ratio of the proportion of a specific food consumed by an individual to the proportion of total household energy consumed by the same individual to determine if food is distributed "fairly" within the household. A ratio of less than one indicates less than a fair share. The data show that preschool children do not get a fair share of vegetables and women do not get a fair share of preferred foods (fruits and sugars), though children and men do. Women get less than a fair share of animal and fish foods and girls get less eggs. The overall ratios for women were less than one; for men, more than one; girls, around one; boys, much more than one. Children in the older age categories (6-10 and 11-19 years old) receive their fair share.

The findings on nutrient deficiency show that the incidence of anemia in preschool children decreases with increased income. The same relationship does not hold for women. Animal and fish consumption are the only part of the diet that have a positive effect on hemoglobin status. An increase of 110 calories per day of meat or fish reduces anemia in preschool children by 13 percent and 220 calories produces the same benefit for women. But households cannot afford expenditures of that magnitude.

Overall, the study shows that preschool boys are favored in food distribution; adult females do not get a fair share of food high in micronutrients; and higher incomes may improve micronutrient status.

To correct the maldistribution of food within a household, Bouis suggested that policies should support nutrition education as a way of changing consumption patterns. Over the long run, higher household incomes should also improve micronutrient status. Women's micronutrient status could be improved by increasing their influence over household allocation decisions.

During the discussion that followed, one participant suggested that the preference given to males in Bangladesh is a cultural phenomenon; the situation is very different in the Philippines, for example. Another participant pointed out that because the "fair-share" ratio varied considerably across households, indicating that discrimination against girls varied across regions, cultural factors may not be the only explanation for gender discrimination. Bouis agreed that there indeed may be institutional factors at work, such as the prevalence of NGOs in these areas, the nearness of villages to Dhaka, and so on.

Another questioner asked if other, less-expensive products could be substituted for animals and fish. Bouis replied that the team will undertake further analysis to see whether some of the nonstaple plant foods (for example, those rich in Vitamin C) could improve micronutrient status.

Another questioner asked if increased profitability and income from vegetable production could lead to improved status for women, or would increased production entice men to take over the activity? Bouis responded that the net profitability from vegetable production is a small part of total household income and increased income from group fish ponds gets divided among many individuals. Thus income from these activities is unlikely to affect women's status.

The difference in treatment of preschool and adolescent boys led one participant to ask why preschoolers received more than their fair share. Bouis said that he had no specific information on this but speculated that perhaps parents had greater concern for a young child's health, which may be seen as more vulnerable.Ÿ