CORRELATES OF HUNGER SEVERITY AND FOOD INTAKE AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGERIA: FACING THE KEY CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY
CORRELATES OF HUNGER SEVERITY AND FOOD INTAKE AMONG RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGERIA: FACING THE KEY CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: Nutritional deficiency and hunger are long-standing challenges in the developing nationswhere majority of people suffer from one of the heaviest burdens of hunger andmalnutrition. Interventions aimed at increasing food availability and hunger reductionhold great potential for improving nutrition status through increasing food production in adeveloping nation such as Nigeria. We present a novel approach to explain the correlatesof hunger severity and food intake among the rural households in Nigeria. Indicators ofhunger severity and food intake were computed with coping options due to hunger anddietary diversity scores. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage,standard deviation etc.) and inferential statistics, such as Principal Component Analysis(PCA), and Ordinary Least Square Regression (OLS). In the study, the descriptive resultsshow that the rural respondents captured in the survey were 81.19% male ,with an averageage (53 ±11.44 years) and (9.20 ± 4.83 years) of education. On the other hand, theregression results of the factors that affect the households’ hunger severity and thecomposite food intake diversity indices (generated from the PCA) were well fitted(p<0.01). Ageing, large household size and poor credit facilities, among others wereidentified as major problems among the rural dwellers. It was therefore concluded thathunger and poor diversity of food intake among the rural households were problems in thestudy area. It was however recommended that considerable investment in ruralhousehold’s human capital should be encouraged since nutrition education and fooddiversity enhances households’ wellbeing

• Details
• Contents