A Study on the Relationship Between Dietary Diversity and Nutrient Adequacy Among Working Adults

  • Unique Paper ID: 182437
  • PageNo: 2357-2367
  • Abstract:
  • This study aimed to examine the relationship between dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy among 145 working adults in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Participants were evaluated using 24-hour dietary recalls, anthropometric assessments, physical activity patterns, lifestyle behaviors, and emotional factors. Statistically significant gender differences were found in age distribution (p = 0.017) and employment type (p = 0.026), with more females being younger and part-time employed, while males were primarily in full-time roles. Males also had significantly higher weight, height, and BMI (p = 0.001). Gender differences in physical activity frequency (p = 0.048), intensity (p = 0.025), and sitting duration (p = 0.009) were observed. Lifestyle behaviors showed males had significantly higher rates of smoking (p = 0.000) and alcohol use, while emotional eating tendencies were more common in females (p = 0.002). Nutrient analysis revealed suboptimal intake of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, and fiber across both genders. A significant negative correlation was noted between dietary diversity and added sugar intake (r = –0.340, p = 0.001). Working adults showed a moderate level of dietary diversity, underscoring its value as a marker of overall diet quality .Despite this variety, gaps in key micronutrients persisted, revealing that diversity alone doesn’t guarantee adequate nutrient intake. Factors like meal timing, activity levels, work schedules, stress, and mood significantly shaped both dietary variety and nutrient adequacy. Higher diversity scores were associated with better nutrient adequacy, particularly when the chosen foods were rich in micronutrients.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{182437,
        author = {Khushi Gupta and Dr.Rekha Battalwar},
        title = {A Study on the Relationship Between Dietary Diversity and Nutrient Adequacy Among Working Adults},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {2},
        pages = {2357-2367},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=182437},
        abstract = {This study aimed to examine the relationship between dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy among 145 working adults in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Participants were evaluated using 24-hour dietary recalls, anthropometric assessments, physical activity patterns, lifestyle behaviors, and emotional factors. Statistically significant gender differences were found in age distribution (p = 0.017) and employment type (p = 0.026), with more females being younger and part-time employed, while males were primarily in full-time roles. Males also had significantly higher weight, height, and BMI (p = 0.001). Gender differences in physical activity frequency (p = 0.048), intensity (p = 0.025), and sitting duration (p = 0.009) were observed. Lifestyle behaviors showed males had significantly higher rates of smoking (p = 0.000) and alcohol use, while emotional eating tendencies were more common in females (p = 0.002). Nutrient analysis revealed suboptimal intake of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, and fiber across both genders. A significant negative correlation was noted between dietary diversity and added sugar intake (r = –0.340, p = 0.001). Working adults showed a moderate level of dietary diversity, underscoring its value as a marker of overall diet quality .Despite this variety, gaps in key micronutrients persisted, revealing that diversity alone doesn’t guarantee adequate nutrient intake. Factors like meal timing, activity levels, work schedules, stress, and mood significantly shaped both dietary variety and nutrient adequacy. Higher diversity scores were associated with better nutrient adequacy, particularly when the chosen foods were rich in micronutrients.},
        keywords = {Dietary Diversity, Nutrient Adequacy, Working Adults, Gender Differences, Lifestyle, Emotional Eating, Physical Activity},
        month = {July},
        }

Cite This Article

Gupta, K., & Battalwar, D. (2025). A Study on the Relationship Between Dietary Diversity and Nutrient Adequacy Among Working Adults. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(2), 2357–2367.

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