Migration and Dietary Diversity Changes among the Students: Case Study of the University of Delhi in India

Abstract

A large number of students migrate every year to the University of Delhi to pursue higher studies. Most of these students find accommodation within the vicinity of the university, that is North Campus of the university. Change in their daily diets, induced by the migration, therefore, becomes a critical aspect of determining their physical and mental well-being. The paper aims to examine the changes in their dietary diversity after migration. The principal focus is to analyse the comparative qualitative differences in the diet of the students before and after migration to the University of Delhi. The focus group for the research work comprises randomly selected migrant students from different parts of India, presently living in the North Campus of Delhi. For the primary survey, 100 respondents have been selected from four localities within the North Campus (Vijay Nagar, Malka Ganj, Kamla Nagar, and Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar) to get first-hand information and opinions. Both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques have been applied to identify the relationship between socio-economic and demographic features of the respondents, and the changes in their dietary diversity have been examined. The findings demonstrate an alarming trend being prevalent across all the four localities—in the consumption of nuts, dry & fresh fruits, and vegetables along with the simultaneous trend of a significant increase in fast-food consumption. The extent of the change varied significantly across the four localities. The highest decline in dietary diversity was observed in Vijay Nagar, whereas Kamla Nagar experienced the least changes in dietary diversity.

Keywords

• Migration
• Dietary
• Consumption
• Students
• University of Delhi
• Delhi