Comparative Assessment of Dietary Pattern in Marwari Community between Traditional Thali and One Meal Concept

Abstract

Food is a marker of rich heritage traditions and social identity. India is home to a diversity of regional cuisines that are strongly related to social identity, culture and local agricultural practices. One such is the Marwari ethnic group originating from arid state of Rajasthan, India and is well known for its Marwari thali (plate) cuisine. The identification of dietary patterns relevant to population sub-groups and their possible association with the manifestation of non-communicable diseases and epidemiological profiles is crucial. Hence, the study aimed to analyse the dietary pattern of age-old ethnic Marwari community in comparison to whether the traditional thali system is still prevalent or the one meal concept has replaced it. 156 participants belonging to Marwari community were selected under the study by purposive sampling. Data was collected using Google forms and food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary patterns of participants. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. It was found that traditional thali was still consumed by 55% of study population and 45% consumed one meal plate. A significant difference was found between traditional thali and one meal plate (p= 0.000) implying that traditional food intake is still prevalent in Marwari community. The results also suggested no significant association between dietary pattern and non-communicable diseases in Marwari community (p ≥ 0.05). Key words: Dietary pattern, NCDs, One meal concept, Traditional thali