Women’s diet: Are we getting the nutrition we really need?

Many Bangladeshi women may be getting enough calories, but not necessarily enough nutrients. Bangladesh has a persistent micronutrient and diet-quality challenge among women. Traditional Bangladeshi diets often fall short of meeting the comprehensive nutritional needs of women, largely due to a heavy reliance on refined carbohydrates (like white rice) and cultural patterns where women eat last or least. WHO’s micronutrient database currently reports anemia in about 30.7% of women aged 15-49 in Bangladesh (2023), while the older National Micronutrient Survey found particularly high levels of vitamin D, zinc, iodine and calcium inadequacy among non-pregnant, non-lactating women. (World Health Organization). The 2011-12 national micronutrient survey reported 71.5% vitamin D deficiency, 67.3% zinc deficiency, 42.1% iodine deficiency and 26.3% calcium deficiency among non-pregnant, non-lactating women. These figures are important, but they are older national biomarker data, so they should not be presented as today's prevalence without qualification.

•     adequate water