Originally posted in The Financial Express on 17 April 2023
Bangladeshis’ food habits have changed remarkably over the years as their protein- and vitamin-based food intake increased significantly, official data showed.
The heavy dependency on carbohydrates has decreased significantly over the last 17 years, and their consumption of healthy foods has been on the rise.
Just 17 years ago, each Bangladeshi consumed only 57.7 grams of meat and fish per day, which almost doubled in 2022, as per the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022 report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) that was recently unveiled.
Meat and fish consumption has been increasing year-on-year significantly as the per capita intake of the primary protein sources of the human body swelled to 79.1gm in 2010 and 88gm in 2017. According to the HIES 2022 report, per capita meat and fish consumption has boosted to 201.9 grams.
Similarly, each of the population’s intakes of fruit has nearly tripled to 95.4 grams per day in 2022. Seventeen years ago in 2005, per capita fruit consumption was only 32.5 grams, as shown by the HIES report.
Another major source of necessary vitamins for the human body, vegetable consumption, has also increased by 28.6 per cent to 201.9 grams per day in 2022. The vegetable intake was only 157 grams per capita per day in 2005, the HIES 2005 report showed.
The food habit for protein and vitamin consumption has also shown a massive change as each Bangladeshi eats 12.7 grams of eggs per day in 2002. Some 17 years ago in 2005, they only ate 5.2 grams of eggs per day, as per BBS data.
The per-head milk and milk product consumption has also slightly increased in Bangladesh over the years. In 2005, the milk and milk product consumption was recorded at 32.4 gm, which increased to 33.7 gm in 2010.
However, its consumption declined to 27.3 gm per day in 2016. The protein and vitamin-rich milk and milk product have again increased to 34.1gm per day, the latest HIES data showed.
On the other hand, the carbohydrate intake in the daily meal has declined significantly over the years where healthy foods like protein and vitamins have replaced it.
Once in 2005, the per capita rice consumption per day was 439.6 grams, which fell to 416 grams in 2010, 367.2 grams in 2016, and plunged to 328.9 grams in 2022, as per the BBS’s HIES survey.
Meanwhile, wheat intake is rising in Bangladesh as different types of processed, prepared, or ready food are now available in the market where flour is the main ingredient.
Each Bangladeshi person once in 2005 consumed 12gm of wheat which has now increased to 22.9 gm per day, as per the BBS survey. Another protein source, the pulses intake by each Bangladeshi has also increased to 17.1 gm per head per day in 2022 from that 14.2gm in 2005, BBS data showed.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshis are still far behind the international standard of nutritious food intake level. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), an adult shall consume at least 400 g (i.e., five portions) of fruit and vegetables per day, excluding potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, and other starchy roots.
Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Research Director Dr Khandker Golam Moazzem told the FE that higher income growth and domestic food production, and availability of food supply in the chain have facilitated changing of the food habit in the country.
“But if we calculate our nutrition status compared to international standards, Bangladeshis are still far behind. It means we have to improve our nutrition status compared to international standards,” he added.
The expenditure for food is heavy in Bangladesh which deprived the low-income people of consuming nutritious food like protein, fruits and milk, Dr Moazzem said.
The government should go for ensuring a more supply of quality foods with lower prices through a cheaper production mechanism so that each of the people can consume adequate nutritious foods, the CPD researcher said.