International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology

Vol. 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 1536-1541

Income And Food Habits On Health Issues Among Rural Women In Tamil
Nadu
Dr.I.Sivakumar,
Post-Doctoral Fellow (RUSA 2.0), Nadu, India,
Prof.K.Manimekalai,
Head,
Dr.A.Ranjithkumar
Research Associate (RUSA 2.0),
Department of Women’s Studies, Alagappa University, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Long journey of rural development programme, the government of India enacted MGNREGA to
promote right to work, and right to food among rural residences. This act aims at enhancing the
livelihood security of people in rural areas by guarantee in hundred days of wage employment in a
financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. As a
result, women have had high cash flow. Women’s income in rural areas is significantly related to food
habits on health issues of rural women as well as rural economy. Rural income inequalities leads to
increasing of economic segregation of health issues, lack of the resources of families in poverty and so
on. The income generation also leads to promotion of food habits which directly impact on health. The
present study discuss on income and food habits influences on health issues among rural women in
Tamil Nadu.

Keywords: Income, Food consumption, rural women, Health.

INTRODUCTION

Rural areas are backbone of the every country but it has problems like backwardness of
agriculture, low income, low employment opportunities, poverty, low infrastructural development, low
illiteracy, low labour productivity, lower prices of agricultural products, high level of migration and
high dependency on natural resources and nature. To beat these issues, governments made initiated
many programmes to promote rural development such as 20 Point Programme: Integrated Rural
Development Programme (IRDP), Training Rural Youths for Self-Employment (TRYSEM), Food for
Work Programme (FWP), National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless
Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), Pradhan Mantri Adarsh
Gram Sadak Yojana (PMAGSY), Bharat Nirman Yojana, Indira Awas Yojana, Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Rajiv Awas Yojan (RAY), National Rural Health
Mission, National Rural Livelihood Mission, and National Food Security Scheme. These programmes
help to overall improvement in the economic, social well-being of villagers and the institutional physical
environments in which they live.

Hence, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has in
2005 which provides right to life for rural residence and act aims at enhancing the livelihood security
of people in rural areas by guarantee in hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural
household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. Rural women have been
actively benefited in this act. After implementation of this act, income generations have been taken
place and sufficient money has available among rural women. There has been a huge inflection of
money in rural women and now they are not depended to husband’s income. Women’s income in rural
areas is major contribution to nation income and national per capita income. Women’s income
guarantees overall development of family as well as children’s education. Rural women’s income
determines the expenditure and savings of their family. Income means the money an individual receives
in compensation for his or her labour, services, or investments and it is the consumption and saving

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opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary
terms.

Health is an important component for ensuring better quality of life. Large masses of the Indian
poor continue to fight hopeless, constantly losing the battle for survival and health particularly in rural
women. In India rural women have been suffering with various epidemics such as malnutrition, cholera,
malaria, typhoid, dengue, chicken guniya, etc. it is mainly due to lack of medical facilities, deep
ignorance and poverty. Article 47 of the Indian Constitution clearly lays down that “the state shall
regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement
of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to bring about
prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which
are injurious to health”. It is the duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living
and to improve public health. To meet this constitutional directive, several programmes for nutrition
have been implemented. These include Supplementary Feeding Programmes including Mid Term Meal
Programme, Nutrition Education through Printed Media, Television and Compulsory Fortification of
Common Salt within Iodine.

Tamil Nadu has slipped six places in the health index released by NITI Aayog recent study.
The State has registered the largest decline in its ranking, from third in 2015-16 to ninth in 2017-2018.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index report 2018, published by Niti Aayog, puts
Tamil Nadu is the second position among States in health ranking, with an index score of 77, at least
25 points higher than the national average. National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched on
2005, to provide accessible, affordable and quality health care to the rural population, especially the
vulnerable groups. NRHM seeks to provide equitable, affordable and quality health care to the rural
population, especially the vulnerable groups. The major objectives of the National Rural Health
Mission are: decrease the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate, provide access to
public health services for every citizen. Also to prevent and control communicable and non-
communicable diseases. NRHM focuses on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and
Adolescent (RMNCH+A) Services. The emphasis here is on strategies for improving maternal and child
health through a continuum of care and the life cycle approach. Due to income of rural women, they
focus more on their health care activities.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A study on Rural Women and Food Insecurity What a Food Calendar Reveals was written by
Neela Mukhejee & Amitabha Mukherjee (1994). The study says that the various elements of
nourishment frailty are best portrayed by poor ladies in rustic zones, who are customarily considered
liable for reaping and assembling nourishment, cooking them, appropriating them inside family units,
expending the left finished and regularly enduring appetite; to decrease nourishment uncertainty of
other family individuals. Mallikharjuna Rao et. al (2010) wrote on “Diet and Nutritional Status of
Women in India” deals with the health of women is connected to their standing within the society. The
demographic consequence of the women has fashioned expression in numerous forms, like
feminine infanticide, higher death rate, lower sex magnitude relation, low acquisition level and lower
level of employment of girls within the non-agricultural sector as compared to men. The study focused
that the intake of all the foods apart from different vegetables and roots and tubers
was below the instructed level among rural in addition as social group women.

The study by Vatsala et. al (2017) on Food Security and Nutritional Status of Women Selected
from a Rural Area in South India. The study found that nutritional status is directly related to health of
population and is influenced by levels of education, standard of living and social status. The present
investigated with an interest to collect data regarding the nutritional and food security status of women
selected from a village in Mysore district, Karnataka. Purposive sampling has been selected in this study
and total 500 samples have been included. The study concludes that associate degree overall assessment
of meals security indicated that the diets qualitative improvement and despite being engaged in
agriculture, protecting foods were lacking from diets. The diet patterns turned round the cereals and
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pulses mature and/or procured through the welfare programs so compromising the organic
process quality of the diets. The above studies examined that no study has done before regarding with
rural women’s income and health habits.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

OBJECTIVES
1. To understand food consumption pattern of rural women associated with their health
2. To examine relationship between income and health issues among the rural women
DATABASE

The data for this study were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data
were generated through field survey and 384 samples were collected in Villupuram district. The
Villupuram district has top among rural women population to total state rural women population in
2011 (8%) and followed by Vellore (6%), Tiruvannamalai (5.3%), Cuddalore (4.6%), Salem (4.4%),
Thanjavur (4.3%) and least rural women population has the Nilgiris (0.8%) district (Census of India
2011). Secondary data were collected from census of India, document and report, eBooks, journals,
newspaper articles and government records and reports.

DATA ANALYSIS

The data generated through frequency table and cross tabulated in accordance with the
enunciated objectives of the study. The statistics tools like Chi–square test have been adopted in this
study.
Table 1: Distribution of the respondents based on their Monthly Income
Monthly Income (Rs.) No. of the Respondents % of the Respondents
Below 2000 107 28
2001- 4000 77 20
4001- 6000 77 20
6001 - 8000 31 8
8001 - 10000 46 12
Above 10001 46 12
Total 384 100
Above table data reveals that 40 percent of the respondents are earning monthly income between 2001
to 6000, 28 percent of the respondents are earning monthly income below 2000, 24 percent of the
respondents are earning monthly income above 8001, and only 8 percent of the respondent are earning
monthly income between 6001–8000. It is observed that nearly half of the respondents (40%) are
earning monthly income 2001 to 6000.Income is related to health and it is strongly associated with
morbidity and mortality across the income distribution, and income-related health disparities appear to
be growing over time. Income influences health and longevity through various clinical, behavioral,
social, and environmental mechanisms. Low income also contributes to reduced poor health and income
inequality has grown substantially in recent decades, which may perpetuate or exacerbate health
disparities.
Table 2: Cross tabulation between types of Food Consumption and Monthly Income

Types of Food Below 2001- 4001- 6001- 8001- Above

Total
Consumption 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 10001
31 46 31 15 16 139
Vegetable -
(29%) (59.7%) (40.3%) (48.4%) (34.8%) (36.2%)
76 31 46 16 46 30 245
Non - Vegetable
(71%) (40.3%) (59.7%) (51.6%) (100%) (65.2%) (63.8%)

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107 77 77 31 46 46 384
Total
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
Pearson Chi-Square value is 49.580a and Sig. 000.

Above table 2 shows that cross tabulation between types of food consumption and monthly
income of the respondents. Women’s income has been classified into five income groups. Out of 384
respondents, 107 respondents are earning monthly income below Rs. 2000, among these 71 percent of
the respondents are taking non-vegetables and only 29 percent of the respondents are taking vegetable.
It means that higher income promotes eating habits of non-vegetables. The impact of income generation
gives positive result to eating of non-vegetable which includes Fish, Egg, Mutton, Chicken, and so on.

H0 = There is significant relation between types of food consumption and respondent’s monthly
income.

The Pearson Chi-Square value is 49.580a and Sig. 000 is lower than significant level of .05. It
concludes that there is significant relation between types of food consumption and respondent’s
monthly income.

Table 3: Cross tabulation between Consumption of Fruits and Monthly Income

Consumption of Below 2001- 4001- 6001- 8001- Above
Fruits 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 10001 Total
92 77 77 31 16 31 324
Regularly
(86%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (34.8%) (67.4%) (84.4%)
15 30 15 60
Not Regularly 0 0 0
(14%) (65.2%) (32.6%) (15.6%)
Total 107 77 77 31 46 46 384
(100%) (100)% (100)% (100)% (100)% (100)% (100)%
Pearson Chi-Square value is 130.346a and Sig. 000

Above table shows that Cross tabulation Consumption of Fruits and respondent’s Monthly Income.
Majority (84.4%) of the respondents are regularly taking fruits and among below 2000 income, 86
percent of the respondents are regularly taking fruits and only 14 percent of the respondents are not
regularly taking fruits. It is observed that low level income generation women regularly consuming
fruits and higher level income generation women not regularly taking fruits. It points out the higher
income generation of rural women are not willing to take fruits.

H0 = There is significant relation between consumption of fruits and respondent’s monthly

income.

The Pearson Chi-Square value is 130.346a and Sig. 000 is lower than significant level of .05. It
concludes that there is significant relation between Consumption of fruits and respondent’s monthly
income.

Table 4: Cross tabulation between habits of Health Drinks and Monthly Income
Below 2001- 4001- 6001- 8001- Above
Health Drinks Total
2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 10001
30 32 47 31 140
Homemade 0 0
(28%) (41.6%) (61%) (67.4%) (36.5%)
Company 77 45 30 31 15 46 244
Brand (72%) (58.4%) (39%) (100%) (32.6%) (100%) (63.5%)

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Vol. 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 1536-1541

Total 107 77 77 31 46 46 384

(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
Pearson Chi-Square value is 87.402a and Sig. 000

Above table 4 shows that cross tabulation between regularly intake health drinks and monthly
income. The data is observed that majority (63.5%) respondents are not regularly intake health drinks.
Those who are earning income below 2000, they are not regularly intake health drinks (72%) and 30
percent of the respondents are regularly intake health drinks. It is observed that higher level of income
generation rural women are not willing to take health drinks and they are not buy any health drinks from
the medical shop and markets.

H0 = There is significant relation between regularly intake health drinks and respondent’s
Monthly Income.

The Pearson Chi-Square value is 87.402a and Sig. 000 is lower than significant level of .05. It
concludes that there is significant relation between regularly intake health drinks and respondent’s
Monthly Income.

Table 5: Cross tabulation between consumption of Energy Food and Monthly Income
Below 2001- 4001- 6001- 8001- Above
Consumption Total
2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 10001
Natural Energy 31 16 47
0 0 0 0
Drink (29%) (34.8%) (12.2%)

Tablets (iron
15 16 31
calcium, vitamins, 0 0 0 0
(19.5%) (51.6%) (8.1%)
etc.)

Fruits and Green 61 31 77 15 16 15 215

Vegetable (57%) (40.3%) (100%) (48.4%) (34.8%) (32.6%) (56%)
15 31 30 15 91
Others 0 0
(14%) (40.3)% (65.2%) (32.6%) (23.7%)
Total 107 77 77 31 46 46 384
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
Pearson Chi-Square value is 291.644a and Sig. 000
Above table 5 illustrates that consumption of energy food and respondent’s monthly income.
The low level of income generation of rural women are consuming energy food like nature energy
drink (29%), fruits and green vegetable (57%), and others (14%). The data are observed that rural
women are consuming fruits and green vegetables. Meddle level of income generation rural women
(100%) are taking only fruits and green vegetables.

H0 = There is significant relation between consumption of energy food and respondent’s

monthly income

The Pearson Chi-Square value is 291.644a and Sig. 000 is lower than significant level of .05. It
concludes that there is significant relation between consumption of energy food and respondent’s
monthly income.

FINDINGS

Based on survey, the impact of income generation gives positive result to eating of non-
vegetable which includes fish, egg, mutton, chicken, and so on. It proves that there is significant relation

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Vol. 29, No. 9s, (2020), pp. 1536-1541

between types of food consumption of respondent’s monthly income. It is observed that low level
income generation women regularly consuming fruits and higher level income generation women not
regularly taking fruits. It points out the higher income generation of rural women are not willing to take
fruits. The study observed that higher levels of income generation rural women are not willing to take
health drinks. Rural women are not buying any health drinks from the medical shop and markets; they
are willing to use health drinks which were made. It concludes that there is significant relation between
regularly intake health drinks and respondent’s monthly income. The study witnessed that rural women
are consuming fruits and green vegetables. Meddle level of income generation rural women (100%)
are taking only fruits and green vegetables. It concludes that there is significant relation between
consumption of energy food and respondent’s monthly income. We have conclude that when the
consumption of energy food increases and the respondent’s monthly income also increases in rural
areas.

CONCLUSION

The implementation of MGNREGA, it provides right to food and right to life in favour of rural
women. This act also assures the equal pay for equal work to rural women. This act gives positive
impact on income generation among rural women. As a result health status of women is being slowly
increased. The crucial steps to strengthening the rural economy are already being taken through various
policies. These steps include investments in areas ranging from health, information technology,
education, infrastructure and small business. PURA (Provision of Urban facilities for Rural Areas)
needs to be given due emphasis, without which Indian villages cannot prosper.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This paper was written under the project of “Health Status in Tamil Nadu: A Gender Analysis”,
Alagappa University - financial supporter of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) 2.0,
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

REFERENCES

1. Mallikharjuna Rao et. al (2010): “Diet and Nutritional Status of Women in India”, Journal of
Human Ecology, vol.29(3), pp.165-170.
2. Neela Mukhejee & Amitabha Mukherjee (1994): Rural Women and Food Insecurity What a Food
Calendar Reveals, Economic Political Weekly, March, 12. pp.597-599.
3. Vatsala L et.al. (2017): “Food Security and Nutritional Status of Women Selected from a Rural
Area in South India”, Journal of Food Nutrition Population Health, Vol. 1 No. 2: 10, Accessed on
23.01.2020, Accessed from http://www.imedpub.com/articles/food-security-and-nutritional-status-
ofwomen-selected-from-a-rural-areain-south-india.php?aid=20451.
4. Government of India. Census 2011.

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