More men eating non-veg than before: Health survey data

Data from the recently released NFHS-5, which was conducted in 2019-21, show that the proportion of men aged 15-49 years who have never consumed non-vegetarian food — listed as ‘fish, chicken or meat’ in the survey — stood at 16.6 per cent in 2019-21. That’s a 5-percentage-point drop from the 21.6 per cent reported in the previous round of the survey, NFHS-4, conducted in 2015-16. There is, however, a gender skew here: the proportion of women in the same age group (15-49) who have never consumed ‘fish, chicken or meat’ stood at 29.4 per cent in 2019-21, only a marginal dip from the 29.9 per cent of 2015-16.

Thus, an overwhelming 83.4 per cent of men and 70.6 per cent of women in the 15-49 age group eat non-vegetarian food daily, weekly or occasionally. That figure stood at 78.4 per cent for men and 70 per cent for women in NHFS-4.

The proportion of weekly meat eaters too has risen sharply: 57.3 per cent men and 45.1 per cent women reported eating fish, chicken or meat at least once a week during NHFS-5, higher than the figures reported in 2015-16: 48.9 per cent men and 42.8 per cent women.

Among men, this category of non-vegetarian eaters is the highest in Lakshadweep (98.4 per cent) and the lowest (14.1 per cent) in Rajasthan in 2019-21. Apart from Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands (96.1%), Goa (93.8%), Kerala (90.1%) and Puducherry (89.9%) account for the Top 5 states and Union Territories where non-vegetarian food is eaten by men at least once a week. Along with Rajasthan, Haryana (13.4%), Punjab (17%), Gujarat (17.9%) and Himachal Pradesh (21.1%) account for the states at the bottom of this list.

In the six-year period between 2015-16 and 2019-21, the proportion of men who consumed fish, chicken or meat at least once in a week increased most in Sikkim (from 49.1 per cent to 76.8 per cent) and declined most in Tripura (94.8 per cent to 76.1 per cent).

Among religious groups, Christian men and women accounted for the highest consumption of non-vegetarian food at least once a week – 80 per cent men and 78% for women in the 15-49 age group. The corresponding numbers for other religious groups stood at: Hindu men: 52.5%, women: 40.7%; Muslim men: 79.5%, women: 70.2%; Sikh men: 19.5%, women: 7.9%; Buddhist/Neo-Buddhist men: 74.1%, women: 62.2%; and Jain men 14.9%, women: 4.3%.

The NFHS findings show that more people consume eggs than ‘fish, chicken or meat’. While 84.7 per cent men reported eating eggs daily, weekly or occasionally during 2019-21 — over 4 percentage points higher than the 80.3 per cent reported in 2015-16 — that number stood at 72 per cent for women, up from 70.8 per cent in 2015-16.

Data also show that the proportion of men and women consuming aerated drinks has come down over the years. In 2019-21, 86.4 per cent men and 84.3 per cent women reported consuming aerated drinks, down from 88.3 per cent for men and 83.5 per cent for women six years ago.

The data also show that three items – pulses/beans; fruits; and green, leafy vegetables — were consumed daily, weekly or occasionally by almost all men and women during 2019-20.

Also, 96.2 per cent of men and 94.2 per cent of women consumed milk and curd either daily, weekly or occasionally, while the proportion of those who ate fried food stood at 95.6 per cent for women and 92.6 per cent for men.

The fifth round of the NFHS was conducted in two phases between June 17, 2019, and April 30, 2021, covering 707 districts drawn from 29 States and seven Union Territories. While the survey is usually completed in a year, due to the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, the latest round of the survey was completed in two phases.