COVID-19 lockdown negatively impacted Indian women's nutrition, study shows
The 2020 nationwide lockdown India imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions that negatively impacted women's nutrition, according to a new study from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition.
Published in the journal
Economia Politica, the study shows that women's dietary diversity – the number of food groups consumed – declined during the lockdown compared to the same period in 2019. Most concerningly, the drop was due to decreased consumption of foods like meats, eggs, vegetables and fruits, which are rich in micronutrients that are crucial to good health and development.
"Women's diets were lacking in diverse foods even before the pandemic, but COVID-19 has further exacerbated the situation," said Soumya Gupta, a research economist at TCI who coauthored the study along with Prabhu Pingali, TCI director; Mathew Abraham, assistant director; and consultant Payal Seth. "Any policies addressing the impact of the pandemic on nutritional outcomes must do so through a gendered lens that reflects the specific, and often persistent, vulnerabilities faced by women."