INTRODUCTION:

Food is essential for life and plays a fundamental role in human health, development, and well-being. Its importance extends beyond mere sustenance, as it influences physical, mental, social, and cultural aspects of life. Food provides the energy needed for the body to perform all its functions, from basic activities like breathing and circulating blood to more demanding tasks like physical exercise. The energy comes from the macronutrients found in food: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Food Behaviour: Food behaviour refers to the patterns, choices, and habits related to how individuals or groups consume food. These behaviours can be influenced by various factors, including cultural, social, psychological, biological, and environmental influences. Key aspects of food behaviour include: In the study of food behaviour, health awareness related food behaviour, ethical values of food, luxury related food and importance of food consumption were discussed (Kokkoris, 2021).

1. Cultural Influences: Cultural norms and traditions often shape what, when, and how food is eaten. Certain foods may be considered staples or symbolic within specific cultures.

2. Social Influences: Eating is often a social activity, and peer pressure or social settings can influence food choices. People tend to eat differently when dining with others compared to eating alone.

3. Emotional and Psychological Factors: Emotions, stress, and mental health can have a major impact on food behaviour. Emotional eating, for instance, is the tendency to eat in response to feelings like stress or sadness rather than hunger.

4. Health and Nutrition Awareness: An individual understands of nutrition, dietary guidelines, and health risks can shape their food choices. Increased awareness about the importance of a balanced diet, such as for adults aged 19-50, can lead to healthier eating habits.

5. Biological Factors: Hunger, appetite, and taste preferences are driven by biological processes. Hormones and genetics can influence how much food someone eats or how they respond to certain flavors.

6. Economic and Environmental Factors: Availability of food, cost, and access to resources affect food behaviour. People may make different choices based on food prices, their budget, or local food environments (e.g., food deserts).

7. Food Trends and Marketing: The rise of specific diets (like veganism, keto, etc.), food trends, and advertising can influence people's food behaviour. Marketing can create demand for certain types of food, even those that are not necessarily nutritious.

8. Convenience and Time: Modern lifestyles often demand quick and convenient meals, leading to an increase in fast food consumption or ready-to-eat meals, which can impact long-term dietary patterns.

Food frequency refers to how often individuals or groups consume certain foods or food groups over a specific period, typically in a week or month. It is often assessed using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), which asks people how frequently they consume various food items. The goal is to capture dietary patterns and help understand a person's nutritional intake. Food frequency data is useful for identifying dietary habits, nutrient intake, and potential risks for health conditions related to diet.

Meal Frequency: Refers to how many meals a person eats in a day (e.g., breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks). Common eating patterns include three main meals with snacks in between, or more frequent, smaller meals spread throughout the day. Meal timing can affect metabolism, energy levels, and overall health.

Food Group Frequency: How often specific food groups are consumed, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, or meats. This helps assess the diversity and balance in a diet. For example, the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption can indicate the level of essential nutrients (e.g., vitamins, fibre) in a person’s diet.

Portion Size Frequency: Frequency of portion sizes can determine whether someone is consuming the right amount of food for their energy needs. Overconsumption of large portions, especially of high-calorie foods, can lead to weight gain and health issues.

Snack Frequency: number of times people consume snacks during the day. This includes healthy snacks (e.g., fruits, nuts) or less nutritious snacks (e.g., sugary treats, processed foods) Frequent snacking, particularly on unhealthy options, can contribute to poor dietary quality.

Clark Wissler, an anthropologist known for his work in cultural anthropology, made significant contributions to the understanding of human behaviour, including food behaviour, through the lens of culture and tradition. His ideas revolved around the relationship between culture and the environment in shaping human habits, including how people acquire and consume food. According to this theory, the environment plays a crucial role in shaping the food practices of different cultures. For example, people living in arid regions might develop a diet based on foods that are well-suited to dry conditions (e.g., grains, dried fruits), while people living near coastal areas may rely on fish and seafood. This concept shows that food behaviour is adaptive—cultures develop eating habits based on what is available in their local environment.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

By systematically examining the availability of food, dietary patterns and nutritional levels among the tribes in different regions in India, comparing the amount of nutrition, the physical requirement of that group, as well as the work efficiency and the effect of diet on the growth of children. and analyzed samples of domestic beverages for nutrient content (Gupta, 1980). After assessing the dietary and nutritional status of adolescent tribal population in nine states of India, it was told that milk, pulses, oil, fat, jaggery and sugar etc. level which is directly related to their socio-economic status (Rao et al., 2006). Abubakari (2016) studied the feeding behavior of women in northern Ghana and the birth weight of their babies and found that mothers who ate good nutritional intake were less likely to have low birth weight babies. Studied the cooking methods of Pahari Kharia tribe, their attitudes and beliefs regarding food, norms of eating habits and tradition of preparing special types of food on special occasions (Maharana and Nayak, 2017). Mahmud and Dalal (2019) studied the impact of resettlement of Bhil tribe on their quality of life at the time of construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam and reported that after resettlement there was a reduction in food consumption in the resettled families due to which their health condition deteriorated resulting in modern the incidence of diseases increased despite the increase in the availability of health facilities. Studied the changes taking place in the traditional diet pattern of Udaipur, Rajasthan and the impact of globalization on it (Dhar, 2016).

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

The present study has the following objectives:

· To study the dietary habits and food consumption patterns of the informants.

· To study cooking practices, including time spent on food preparation.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The present study focuses on the food behaviour of Birhor families residing in Dharam Jaigarh and Kota development blocks of Raigarh and Bilaspur districts of Chhattisgarh. 56 Birhor families were selected for the study under purposeful sampling. The nature of this study is quantitative and the research design is exploratory in which interview schedule, non-participant observation, central group discussion and food frequency questionnaire have been used for collection of primary data. Whereas secondary data have been collected from research papers, books and internet.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION:

Socio-Economic status of Birhor family: Among the informants maximum 39.28% are in the age group of 15-25 years, 26.8% informants are in the age group of 26-35, 16.1% are in the age group of 46-55 years, 8.9% informants are in the age group of 36-45 years, 7.1% informants are in the age group of 56-65 years and 1.8% informants are in the age group of 66-80 years and maximum 60.7% informants are women and 39.3% informants are men. There are transport routes in the village out of which 76.8% are unpaved roads and 23.2% are paved roads. In the toilet system of the village 14.3% informants have toilet facility in their houses and 85.7% informants do not have toilet facility in their houses. In the case of drainage system of the houses, 12.5% of the informants have drainage system while 87.5% of the informants do not have drainage system. 91.1% of the informants do not have gas facility in their houses but 8.9% of the informants have gas facility in their houses. In 91.1% of the informants' houses, food is cooked on stove and in 8.9% of the informants' houses, both gas and stove are used for cooking. In 69.6% of the informants' houses, if food is cooked on stove or sigri, then there is a source of smoke emission but in 30.4% of the informants' houses, there is no source of smoke emission. Total monthly income of 33.9% informants' family is (less than 1033), 30.4% informants' family monthly income is (1034-3071), 17.9% informants' family monthly income is (1034-3071), and 16.1% informants' family monthly income is (5120- 7680).

The Dietary Habits and food Consumption patterns of the Informants:

Meal frequency: Meal frequency refers to the number of times a person eats food throughout the day and has a significant impact on health. It refers to the timing, quantity and interval of meals. Some people prefer to eat three meals a day, which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, while others prefer to eat 5-6 meals in small intervals. Adopting the right meal frequency helps the digestive system function smoothly, balances energy levels and helps in weight control. Also, it can be helpful in maintaining blood sugar levels and preventing problems like diabetes. For a balanced diet, it is important that a person determines his meal intervals correctly and avoid feeling too hungry or overeating. To adopt the right meal frequency, one should never skip breakfast, drink enough water throughout the day and plan a diet according to his daily physical activity.

Frequency of consumption of rice among all the informants: All the informants consume rice twice or more than twice a day.

Table No. 1:

S.N.	Frequency of pulses	Frequency	Percentage
1	No	2	3.6
2	1-3 times a month	23	41.1
3	once a week	12	21.4
4	2-3 times a week	14	25
5	once every day	5	9
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of consumption of pulses among the informants in which 3.6% of the informants do not eat pulses, 41.1% of the informants eat pulses 1 to 3 times in a month, 21.4% of the informants eat pulses once in a week, 25% of the informants consume pulses 2 to 3 times in a week and 9% of the informants consume pulses once every day.

Table No. 2:

S. N.	Frequency of dairy products	Frequency	Percentage
1	1-3 times a month	27	48.2
2	once a week	18	32.1
3	2-3 times a week	11	19.6
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of dairy consumption among the informants, wherein 48.2% of the informants consumed it once to three times a month, 32.1% of the informants consumed it once a week and 19.6% of the informants consumed it two to three times a week.

Table No.-3

S. N.	Frequency of oil	Frequency	Percentage
2	1-3 times a month	29	51.8
3	once a week	16	28.6
4	2-3 times a week	9	16.1
5	once every day	6	10.7
6	two or more times a day	6	10.7
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of use among informants, wherein 51.8% of the informants used it once to three times in a month, 28.6% of the informants used it once a week, 16.07% of the informants used it 2 to 3 times a week, 10.7% of the informants used it once every day and 10.7% of the informants used it two or more times a day.

Table No. 4

S.N.	Frequency of meat/fish/egg	Frequency	Percentage
1	1-3 times a month	28	50
2	once a week	19	33.9
3	2-3 times a week	6	10.7
4	once every day	3	5.4
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of eating meat/fish/egg among the informants, out of which 50% of the informants have the frequency of eating meat/fish/egg once to three times in a month, 33.9% of the informants have this frequency once a week, 10.7% of the informants have this frequency two to three times a week and 5.4% of the informants have this frequency once every day.

Table No. 5:

S. N.	Frequency of fruit	Frequency	Percentage
1	1-3 times a month	31	55.4
2	once a week	18	32.1
3	2-3 times a week	5	8.9
4	once every day	2	3.6
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of fruit among the informants, in which this frequency was found to be one to three times in a month in 55.4 % informants, once in a week in 32.1% informants, two to three times in a week in 8.9 % informants and once in a day in 3.6% informants.

Table No. 6:

S. N.	Frequency of fast food consumption	Frequency	Percentage
1	1-3 times a month	4	7.1 %
2	once a week	7	12.5 %
3	2-3 times a week	9	16.1 %
4	once every day	15	26.8 %
5	two or more times a day	21	37.5 %
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of fast-food consumption among the informants, in which out of all the informants, this frequency was found one to three times in a month in 7.1% of the informants, once in a week in 12.5% of the informants, two to three times in a week in 16.1% of the informants, once every day in 26.8% of the informants and two or more times in a day in 37.5% of the informants.

Table No. 7:

S. N.	Frequency of tea/coffee	Frequency	Percentage
1	1-3 times a month	3	5.4,
2	once a week	4	7.1
3	2-3 times a week	6	10.7
4	once every day	29	51.8
5	two or more times a day	14	25
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the frequency of tea/coffee among the informants, in which out of all the informants, this frequency is found once to three times in a month in 5.4% of the informants, this frequency is found once in a week in 7.1% of the informants, this frequency is found two to three times in a week in 10.7% of the informants, this frequency is found once every day in 51.8% of the informants, this frequency is found two or more times in a day in 25% of the informants.

Table No. 8:

S. N.	Using the same appliance for cooking every day	Frequency	Percentage
1	. stoves	53	94.6,
2	In the gas	3	5.4,
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the percentage of informants using the same medium for cooking food every day in which 94.6% of the informants use stove for cooking food every day and 5.4% of the informants use gas for cooking food every day.

Table No. 9:

S.N.	Time taken to prepare the food	Frequency	Percentage
1	One hour	36	64.3
2	2 hours	13	32.2
3	More than 2 hours	7	12.5
	Total Sum	56	100

The above table shows the time taken by the informants to cook food, in which 64.3% of the informants take one hour to cook food, 32.2% of the informants take 2 hours to cook food and 12.5% of the informants take more than 2 hours to cook food.

The above table shows the time taken by the informants to cook food, in which 64.3% of the informants take one hour each in the morning and evening to cook food, 32.2% of the informants take 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening to cook food and 12.5% of the informants take more than 2 hours in the morning and more than 2 hours in the evening to cook food.

Table No. 11:

S.N.	Utensils used for cooking food	Frequency	Percentage
1	Aluminium	54	96.4
2	Iron	4	7.1
	Total Sum	56	100

In the above table, the utensils used by the informants for cooking food are shown, in which 96.4% utensils are made of aluminium which are used for cooking food and 7.14% utensils are made of iron which are used for cooking food.

Table No. 12:

S.N.	The order of taking food	Frequency	Percentage
1	Women from children	19	33.9
2	Women to men	8	14.3
3	Women from children and Men to Women	29	51.8
	Total Sum	14	100

The above table shows the order of consumption of food among the informants, in which in 33.9% of the informants this order was found to be from children to women, in 14.3% of the informants this order was found to be from men to women and in 51.8% of the informants this order was found to be from children to women and from men to women.

CONCLUSION:

1. The majority of informants belong to the 15-25 age group, followed by those in the 26-35 age group. More women participated in the study compared to men. The village has transport routes, with most being unpaved roads and a smaller portion paved. Sanitation facilities are lacking, as most households do not have toilets or a proper drainage system. The majority of households rely on traditional cooking methods using stoves, with only a few having access to gas. In many homes where food is cooked on a stove or sigri, there is smoke emission, while some do not have a proper smoke outlet. The economic condition of most families is modest, with a significant portion earning a low monthly income.

2. The data indicates that the consumption of essential food groups like pulses, dairy, meat, fish, eggs, and fruits is generally low among the informants. Most individuals consume these foods occasionally, with the majority having them only once to three times a month or weekly. Daily consumption is minimal, suggesting that these items are not staples in their diet. In contrast, fast-food consumption is notably high, with many informants eating it daily or multiple times a day, which may impact their overall nutrition. Tea and coffee, however, are widely consumed, with most informants drinking them daily, making them a regular part of their routine.

3. The data shows variations in cooking time, with most informants spending about an hour preparing meals, while some take two or more hours. Cooking is typically done both in the morning and evening. Aluminum utensils are the most commonly used, with a smaller preference for iron cookware. Food consumption order also varies, with many households serving children first, followed by women, while some prioritize men. A significant portion follows a mixed pattern, reflecting traditional eating practices.

REFERENCE:

1. Abubakari, A., and Jahn, A. Maternal Dietary Patterns and Practices and Birth Weight in Northern Ghana. PLOS ONE. 2016: 11(9): e0162285. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162285.

2. Dhar. A study of changing food habits of people in rajasthan with spacial reference to Udaipur region. Shodhganga. 2016.

3. Dalal, M.A. Resettlement and quality of life of the bhil tribe in sardar sarovar dam area, India. Multidimensional Approach to Quality of Life. 2019: 141-155.

4. Gupta, P. N. S. Food consumption and nutrition of regional tribes of India. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. 1980: 9(2): 93–108: https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.1980.9990587.

5. Maharana, R., and Nayak, J.K. Food habit and food preparation among the Hill Kharia of Mayurbhanj district, Odisha: anthropological study. International Journal of Academic Research and Development. 2017: 2(6): 913-920.

6. Rao, K.M., Balakrishna, N., Laximiah, A., Venkaiah, K., and Brahman, G. Diet and nutritional status of adolescent tribal population in 9 state of India. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2006; 15(1): 64-71.

Received on 14.09.2024 Revised on 19.10.2024

Accepted on 27.11.2024 Published on 19.03.2025

Available online from March 28, 2025

Res. J. of Humanities and Social Sciences. 2025;16(1):8-12.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2025.00002

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License.

S. N.	Time taken to prepare the food-	Morning		Mid Day		Evening
S. N.	Time taken to prepare the food-	Frequency	Percentage	Frequency	Percentage	Frequency	Percentage
1	One hour	36	64.3,	0	0	36	64.3,
2	2 hours	13	32.2 %	0	0	13	32.2 %
3	more than 2 hours	7	12.5 %	0	0	7	12.5 %
	Total Sum	56	100	56	100	56	100