Determinants of dietary diversity of farming households in Chamwino District, Tanzania: A gendered perspective

Abstract

Various studies based on a simpler approach of twelve food groups have reported that female-headed households are more likely to have higher dietary diversity compared to male headed households while others have reported that female headed households consume lower dietary diversity compared to male-headed households. However, there is limited empirical evidence on the relationship between dietary diversity and gender based on an advanced approach of using weighted sum dietary diversity scores. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the determinants of dietary diversity based on weighted sum dietary diversity scores in Chamwino District in the central part of Tanzania from a gendered perspective. A cross-sectional research design was used to collect data from randomly selected 400 households. Using multiple linear regression; household size, engagement in non-farm income generating activities and size of land cultivated significantly (p<0.05) influenced dietary diversity in female and male headed households. It is concluded that intervention programmes may need to be tailored based on size of land cultivated, household size and engagement in income generating activities. Therefore, this will entail reducing household sizes by strengthening the use of family planning measures among female headed households. All people who are energetic must participate in farming activities in order to increase the size of the cultivated land as well as promoting engagement in income generating activities as alternative livelihood options among male headed households.