Data Point | What are Indians eating?

A look at the dietary patterns followed by Indians among States/UTs

There is a wide variety of dietary patterns and cuisines across different regions and States of India. With the variation in landscapes and soil, the cultivation patterns of a region affect the food consumption habits of people. So what do Indians eat or rather what types of food do people from different States prefer? 

Data from the fourth and fifth editions of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) show how the dietary habits of people vary across States.

India is home to different indigenous varieties of spinach and fruit. Leaves of moringa, turmeric, fenugreek etc. are part of Indian cuisine across various States. Daily, more than 50% of Indians, irrespective of gender, consumed leafy green vegetables in 2019-21. Out of this, Odisha ranked the highest, with about 90% of people in the State consuming dark green leafy vegetables daily, according to NFHS-5. Odisha saw a 10% increase in leafy green consumption from the 2015-16 (NFHS-4) period. In 2015-16, among women, Sikkim ranked the highest, with 84.9% of them eating leafy greens daily, while among men, Odisha was leading with 79.8%. Telangana ranked the lowest among consumption of leafy greens by men, according to NFHS-5. The consumption of green leafy vegetables among women in Tamil Nadu was almost 60% in 2015-16, which came down to 10.6% in 2019-21. The east, northeast and central States led the ranking in terms of daily consumption of leafy vegetables.

The diversity of fruits in India has made it an important part of our daily diet, especially in the western, northern and southern States. About 12% of the population consumed fruits daily. Weekly, while 37% of women ate fruits, the share went up to 44% among men. Goa ranked the highest in 2019-21 among both men and women, with a share of 30.2% and 44.5%, respectively, eating fruits in their daily diet. This being said, the share decreased from the 2015-16 period. Daily consumption of fruits was the lowest in States like Nagaland, Odisha and Jharkhand during both periods, with only 5% or less eating fruits daily.

Data from NFHS-5 show that in over half of the 29 States/UTs analysed, more than 90% of the population consumed fish or chicken or meat daily or weekly or occasionally. In 25 of them, the figure was more than 50%. In none of the States/UTs was the share less than 20%. In terms of daily consumption, Kerala ranked first, with 51% and 57% of men and women, respectively, consuming fish or chicken or meat. While the consumption among women came down 7% points from 2015-16, it increased by almost 2% among men. Notably, in States like Punjab and Haryana, consumption of meat was less than 1.5% during both periods, ranking the lowest among States. In general, Kerala, Goa, West Bengal and most northeastern States had a higher share in meat consumption. Fish consumption was the highest among the coastal States of Kerala and West Bengal. 

Eggs, an additional food supplement provided as part of the mid-day meals in more than 15 States/UTs in India, are also a staple in many Indian households. In 15 States, more than 90% of the population consumed eggs daily or weekly or occasionally. Among men, Goa ranked on top in terms of daily consumption, with 21.5% eating eggs in 2019-21. At 16.2%, Tamil Nadu ranked the highest among women during the same period. There was a significant increase in the share of people consuming eggs from 2015-16 — a 13.7% points increase among men and a 4.8% points increase among women. In Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the share of men, as well as women eating eggs, was less than 2% each.

Be it tea, coffee or energy drinks, Indians drink milk regularly. Curd is another staple that has an important place in the Indian kitchen, especially during summers. Consumption of milk or curd is the highest in southern States as well as the cow belt in India. With more than 80% of women consuming milk or curd daily, Tamil Nadu had the highest rank in 2019-21. There was a rise of 4.6% points in women’s consumption of the product from 2015-16. Milk or curd consumption saw a decrease of 1.8% points among men in Haryana from 2015-16, the State ranked on top in milk/curd consumption. And though there was an increase from 2015-16, Mizoram ranked at the bottom during both periods as men and women each consumed less than 15% of milk/curd.