Food Habit and Dietary Intake of Garment Workers in Semi-Urban Area of Bangladesh

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the food habit and dietary pattern of garment workers who work at semi-urban
area of Dhaka and Gazipur. Under the specific objectives the study tried to reveal the family background of garment
workers, reasons of migration and involving in garment factory, monthly budgetary allocation for food, access to
commodity market, rice consumption pattern, average food intake and changes in overall livelihood pattern. The
result showed that,12 percent of the respondent was the only earning member of the family. Average family size of
the respondents was 7 whereas number of dependent family member on his/her income was 3(on an average). Most
of the respondent garment workers belong to farming community (78%). The majority (58 percent) of them were
migrated for extreme poverty or insolvency. The finding ensured that cereals, notably rice, constitute the most
important item of food consumed by the garment workers. Rice essentially dominated average daily food intake per
person at 443 grams making up 52.37% of total food consumption. Among the respondent’s 36 percent took rice
thrice a day and rice were also being consumed as snacks in different forms as well. Varietal preference of rice was
found dependent on respondent’s budget constraints and per unit retail price.