Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on Nutrition Efficiency: An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis

Abstract

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BackgroundPaying particular attention to sustainable food consumption in low-income households is essential for increasing human health. Due to the growing population globally, this concept will likely become more serious soon.MethodsFollowing the importance of optimizing food consumption for sustainability, in this study, a novel methodology is introduced for calculating nutrient intake efficiency and determining choices of food in different locations. The impact of socio-economic factors on nutrition efficiency is assessed. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as a well-known linear programming (LP) and a Tobit model are used to achieve the goals. Household Consumption and Expenditure Surveys (HCESs) of 30,000 rural and urban Iranian households in all provinces in 2016 are analyzed. A Nutrient Efficiency Map (NEM) of Iran was depicted by GIS software.ResultsThe results showed that many townships had nutrient efficiency scores of less than 70%. Northeast townships had the lowest scores, with an efficiency score of less than 50%. Overall, townships have lower efficiency in the North (seaside cities), East (desert cities), and North East (isolated cities) when compared with other areas.ConclusionTherefore, it is suggestible that the government should modify the support policies and the protection packages based on social, geographical, and cultural status.

Keywords

• data envelopment (DEA)
• efficiency
• optimization
• socio-economic disparity
• nutrient intake
• urban-rural areas