Assessing Nutritional Knowledge among Rural Women in Mulugu District of Telangana, India: Implications for Strengthening Nutrition-sensitive Agricultural Extension

Abstract

Background: Nutritional knowledge plays an important role in enabling rural households to translate food availability into appropriate dietary practices. Rural women are particularly important in this process because of their involvement in agricultural production, food selection, preparation and household food management. However, gaps in practical nutrition knowledge may limit the effective utilisation of locally available nutrient-rich foods and reduce the nutritional benefits of agricultural production. Aims: To assess the nutritional knowledge of rural women in Mulugu district of Telangana and identify key knowledge gaps related to dietary diversity, nutrient sources and functions, food preparation, malnutrition and utilisation of locally available agricultural resources. Study Design: A descriptive study design was adopted among 120 rural women participating in agricultural activities in Mulugu district of Telangana. Methodology: Two mandals and eight villages were randomly selected. From each village, 15 rural women engaged in agricultural activities were purposively selected. Nutritional knowledge was assessed using a structured schedule covering balanced diet, macro- and micronutrients, food sources and functions, anaemia, fruits and vegetables, kitchen gardening, poultry, cooking practices and malnutrition. Responses were scored as 1 for “Yes” and 0 for “No”, with total knowledge scores ranging from 16 to 98. Results: The findings revealed that the majority of rural women (66.66%) had a medium level of nutritional knowledge, followed by 20.00% with high knowledge and 13.34% with low knowledge. Relatively higher knowledge was observed regarding nutrients required for body functioning (92.50%), protein-rich foods (85.00%), Vitamin A-rich foods (84.16%) and iron-rich foods (81.66%). However, considerable knowledge gaps were identified in relation to balanced diets (89.17%), dietary fibre (65.83%), functions of fats (67.00%), good cooking practices (81.67%), causes of undernutrition (62.50%), prevention of malnutrition (85.84%) and adverse health effects of malnutrition (91.67%). The findings also indicated a gap between the production or availability of nutrient-rich foods and their household utilisation, suggesting that nutritional awareness does not always translate into appropriate dietary practices. Conclusion: The findings indicate that rural women possess a basic foundation of nutritional knowledge, but substantial gaps remain in comprehensive and practical nutrition knowledge. Nutrition-sensitive extension should therefore move beyond awareness creation towards practical nutrition education, dietary diversification, kitchen gardening, poultry utilisation, appropriate cooking practices and behaviour-change communication. A farm-to-family nutrition approach can help strengthen the link between locally available agricultural resources, household food utilisation and improved nutritional practices.