Determinants of households’ dietary diversity score in southwest Benin

Dietary diversity exists when a household has access to a variety of foods, which positively impacts the nutrient adequacy of their members’ diets. This study aimed to explore the drivers of household dietary diversity based on 12 food groups consumed daily. Binomial models (logit, probit) and multinomial models (with several modalities) were used to analyze data gathered from 558 households selected randomly in 40 villages in Bopa (a commune in the prefecture of the Mono department, South-west Republic of Benin) in December 2020. The results showed a dependency between the household’s dietary diversity score and the area of residence, the household's coverage rate of basic needs, and the religion of the head of the household and that of his/her spouse. These results suggested that improving the household livelihood diversification has a direct impact on food availability and purchasing power to cover basic needs.