The food systems and environments in South Asia are undergoing significant transformations, creating both opportunities and challenges for achieving sustainable and healthy diets. In this context, individual and household food choice behaviors are critical to promoting sustainable and healthy diets. Therefore, understanding the science of food choice is essential. However, there is limited evidence on the drivers of food choice behaviors in the context of changing food environments that contribute to sustainable healthy diets. This is partly due to the difficulties in assessing the food environments, identifying the drivers of food choice, and studying food choice behaviors at the individual- and household-levels.
Against this backdrop, IFPRI and the Drivers of Food Choice Program team from the University of South Carolina are working together under the CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) to create a repository for food choice assessment and measurement at the individual- and household-levels. To implement this toolkit, from March 14-16, 2023, a 2.5-day methods workshop was organized in Dhaka entitled, “Assessing drivers of food choice at the individual and household levels in South Asia.” The purpose of this workshop was to use the drivers of food choice conceptual framework, a tools repository that the University of South Carolina team is developing for TAFSSA, and the workshop discussions to strengthen and hone TAFSSA’s research approach and protocol design for studying drivers of dietary choice in the focus countries of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal.
About 47 leading researchers and implementers from four South Asian countries (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan) and regional and global organizations attended this workshop to discuss evidence priorities and gaps. The participants identified several areas where evidence was lacking, such as decision-making and gender dynamics related to food acquisition and preparation, what, when, where, with whom, or how to acquire, prepare, allocate, store, and consume food as well as adolescent influence on household food choices. They also highlighted priority research questions, including understanding household dynamics and power around food preparation practices, characterizing vendors and assessing their role in transforming food availability and accessibility, and studying the food aspirations of adolescents. Additionally, they wanted to examine food commodities received under social safety net programs, how eating occasions varied by gender and school attendance of adolescents, the seasonality of consumption, the impact of different types of schools on food choices, among other areas of interest. Finally, the participants discussed which measures are needed to assess food choices.
TAFSSA aims to conduct field studies in two priority countries in 2023 to evaluate and analyze the drivers of food choice, including in Bangladesh. Learn more about TAFSSA’s recent work in Bangladesh to date!
- Household listing underway for agrifood systems assessment in Bangladesh (March 15, 2023)
- Survey training completed for agrifood systems assessment in Bangladesh (February 18, 2023)
For more information on TAFSSA, please visit the official TAFSSA website.
