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. 2018 Jan;14(1):e12489.
doi: 10.1111/mcn.12489. Epub 2017 Aug 1.

Women's dietary diversity in rural Bangladesh: Pathways through women's empowerment

Sheela S Sinharoy  1 , Jillian L Waid  2   3 , Regine Haardörfer  4 , Amanda Wendt  3 , Sabine Gabrysch  3 , Kathryn M Yount  5
Affiliations

Women's dietary diversity in rural Bangladesh: Pathways through women's empowerment

Sheela S Sinharoy et al. Matern Child Nutr. 2018 Jan.

Abstract

The relationship between women's empowerment and women's nutrition is understudied. We aimed to elucidate this relationship by quantifying possible pathways between empowerment and dietary diversity among women in rural Bangladesh. In 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 2,599 married women ages 15-40 (median: 25) living in 96 settlements of Habiganj District, Bangladesh, as a baseline for the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition trial. We collected data on women's empowerment (highest completed grade of schooling and agency), dietary diversity, and demographic factors, including household wealth. We used exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis on random split-half samples, followed by structural equation modelling, to test pathways from schooling, through domains of women's agency, to dietary diversity. Factor analysis revealed 3 latent domains of women's agency: social solidarity, decision-making, and voice with husband. In the adjusted mediation model, having any postprimary schooling was positively associated with voice with husband (β41 = .051, p = .010), which was positively associated with dietary diversity (β54 = .39, p = .002). Schooling also had a direct positive association with women's dietary diversity (β51 = .22, p < .001). Neither women's social solidarity nor decision-making mediated the relationship between schooling and dietary diversity. The link between schooling and dietary diversity was direct and indirect, through women's voice with husband but not through women's social solidarity or decision-making. In this population, women with postprimary schooling seem to be better able to negotiate improved diets for themselves.

Keywords: Bangladesh; agency; dietary diversity; women's empowerment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mediation of the relation between schooling and dietary diversity through women's social solidarity and voice with husband. The figures use standard symbols for the representation of structural equation models (Kline, 2011). Note. β31 is adjusted for women's height; β31 and β53 are adjusted for age at first marriage; β21, β31, and β41 are adjusted for age at the time of the survey; β53 and β54 are adjusted for household structure; all are adjusted for household wealth and clustering
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