Fish Consumption Diversity Among the Adult Population of Rural Bangladesh

Eyad  Ahmed; Israt  Jahan; Jannat Binte  Jalal; Abu Torab M A  Rahim

doi:10.3329/brc.v12i1.86775

Authors

Eyad Ahmed Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000
Israt Jahan Department of Food Technology and Nutrition Science, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali
Jannat Binte Jalal Center for Participatory Research and Development, Mirpur, Dhaka
Abu Torab M A Rahim Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/brc.v12i1.86775

Keywords:

Fishes, diet, adult, rural population, public health, Bangladesh

Abstract

The fisheries sector occupies a pivotal position in Bangladesh’s economy, livelihoods, culture, and nutrition. The current study aimed to explore the diversity in fish consumption and sociodemographic factors associated to fish intake among the Bangladeshi adult rural population. Data from the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS 2018-2019) was used for the current study. Data processing and statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 31.0 and R version 4.5.1. Geometric mean (95% CI) was used to express average fish intake of the respondents and partial proportional odds model was used to explore the factors associated to fish intake among the adult population (age:19-59 years) of rural Bangladesh. Adults (19–59 years) have the highest average fish intake (males 46.47 g/day; females 38.63 g/day), exceeding adolescents (males: 41.04 g/day; females: 35.51 g/day), older adults 60+ (males: 41.75 g/day; females: 34.61 g/day), and children <10 (males: 21.29 g/day; females: 20.40 g/day). About 42 (forty-two) different species of fish consumption was observed among the Bangladeshi rural adults. The overall fish intake comprised 40.77% small indigenous fish species (SIS), 31.35% large indigenous species, 23.67% exotic species, and 4.22% crustaceans. Among adults (19–59 years), fish contributes very little to total energy, negligible to carbohydrates, and a meaningful share to protein (~14%), underscoring its role as a protein-dense rather than energy- or carb-dense food. Sex, household size, division, and marital status were found to be significantly associated with fish intake thresholds (p < .05) from partial proportional odds model. These findings highlight the need for targeted nutrition-sensitive policies and equitable food system strategies to enhance access to diverse fish species, ensuring fish continues to play a vital role in improving dietary quality in rural Bangladesh.

References

Ahmed, A. U., Ahmad, K., Chou, V., Hernandez, R., Menon, P., Naeem, F., Naher, F., Quabili, W., Sraboni, E., & Yu, B. (2013). The Status of Food Security in the Feed the Future Zone and Other Regions of Bangladesh: Results from the 2011–2012 Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey.

Ahmed, A. U., Bakhtiar, M. M., Ali, M., Ghostlaw, J., & Nguyen, P. H. (2022). Trends and inequities in food, energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intakes in rural Bangladesh. The Journal of nutrition, 152(11), 2591.

Ahmed, E., Islam, S., & Jahan, I. (2019a). Nutritional analysis of striped spiny eel: Macrognathus pancalus (Hamilton, 1822) in laboratory condition. International Journal of Progressive Sciences and Technologies, 17(1), 70-74.

Ahmed, E., Asha, S. A., & Jahan, I. (2019b). Evaluation of Nutritional Properties of a Commonly Consumed Indigenous Fish Species: Nandus nandus (Hamilton, 1822) in Bangladesh.

Ahmed, E., Jahan, I., & Shaheen, N. (2024). Comparative Analysis of Amino Acid Profile of Tenualosa Ilisha and Catla Catla and Their Potential Contribution to Recommended Nutrient Intake. Bioresearch Communications, 10(1), 1371-1377.

Akter, R., Thilsted, S.H., Hossain, N., Ishihara, H. and Yagi, N., (2019). Fish is the preferred animal-source food in the rural community of Southern Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(20), p.5764.

Al Hasan, S.M., Saulam, J., Kanda, K. and Hirao, T., (2019). Temporal trends in apparent food consumption in Bangladesh: a joinpoint regression analysis of FAO’s food balance sheet data from 1961 to 2013. Nutrients, 11(8), p.1864.

Al Hasan, S.M., Saulam, J., Kanda, K., Murakami, A., Yamadori, Y., Mashima, Y., Ngatu, N.R. and Hirao, T., (2020). Temporal trends in apparent energy and macronutrient intakes in the diet in Bangladesh: a joinpoint regression analysis of the FAO’s food balance sheet data from 1961 to 2017. Nutrients, 12(8), p.2319.

Andrews, C., Shrestha, R., Ghosh, S., Appel, K., Gurung, S., Ausman, L.M., Marino Costello, E. and Webb, P., (2022). Consumption of animal source foods, especially fish, is associated with better nutritional status among women of reproductive age in rural Bangladesh. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 18(1), p.e13287.

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. (2023). Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2022

Bangladesh Species Database. Available at: https://www.bdspecies.org/search/. Accessed on September 9, 2025

Banglapedia-the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Available at: https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page. Accessed on September 9, 2025

BdFISH Feature-Fisheries Features special reference to Bangladesh. Available at: https://en.bdfish.org/. Accessed on September 9, 2025

Bogard, J.R., Farook, S., Marks, G.C., Waid, J., Belton, B., Ali, M., Toufique, K., Mamun, A. and Thilsted, S.H., (2017). Higher fish but lower micronutrient intakes: Temporal changes in fish consumption from capture fisheries and aquaculture in Bangladesh. PloS one, 12(4), p.e0175098.

Bogard, J. R., Marks, G. C., Mamun, A., & Thilsted, S. H. (2017a). Non-farmed fish contribute to greater micronutrient intakes than farmed fish: results from an intra-household survey in rural Bangladesh. Public Health Nutrition, 20(4), 702-711.

Chakraborty, B.K., 2021. Status of fish diversity and production in Bangladesh. Integr. Biol. Resour. Prosper, 1, pp.85-99.

Department of Fisheries (2022). Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

IFPRI. (2020). Bangladesh integrated household survey (BIHS) 2018–2019 (IFPRI. (IFPRI) A.-U.S.A. for I. D. (USAID) (ed.); V1 ed.). Harvard Dataverse https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/NXKLZJ

Longvah, T., An̲antan̲, I., Bhaskarachary, K., Venkaiah, K., & Longvah, T. (2017). Indian food composition tables (pp. 2-58). Hyderabad: National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research.

Miah, S., Akhter, K. T., Akter, S., Sadiq, Z. A., Jahan, I., Bhuiyan, N. H., ... & Ahmed, E. (2025). Fatty Acid Profiling and Determination of Nutritional Quality of Lipids In Selected Commonly Consumed Fishes in Dhaka City. Bioresearch Communications-(BRC), 11(01), 1679-1687.

McCullagh, P. (1980). Regression models for ordinal data. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Methodological), 42(2), 109-127.

Nahar Q, Choudhury S, Faruque MdO, Sultana S, Siddiquee MA. Desirable dietary pattern for Bangladesh [Internet]. Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM); 2013. Available from: http: //fpmu.gov.bd/agridrupal/sites/default/files/ToR%2015-%20Fial%20Report%20BIRDEM.pdf.

National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT). (2024). Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

Nguyen, P. H., Ali, M., Ghostlaw, J., Tran, L. M., Parvin, A., Bakhtiar, M. M., & Ahmed, A. U. (2025). Trends and inequities in adequacy of micronutrient intakes in rural Bangladesh. The Journal of Nutrition, 155(2), 492-508.

Njogu, L., Adam, R., Mwema, C., & Murshed-e-Jahan, K. (2022). Dietary diversity, fish consumption patterns and its determinants among women, children and households in Bangladesh. Preprint. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2142372/v1

Peterson, B., & Harrell Jr, F. E. (1990). Partial proportional odds models for ordinal response variables. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series C (Applied Statistics), 39(2), 205-217.

Rahman, M. N., & Islam, A. R. M. T. (2020). Consumer fish consumption preferences and contributing factors: empirical evidence from Rangpur city corporation, Bangladesh. Heliyon, 6(12).

Roos, N., Leth, T., Jakobsen, J., & Thilsted, S. H. (2002). High vitamin A content in some small indigenous fish species in Bangladesh: perspectives for food-based strategies to reduce vitamin A deficiency. International journal of food sciences and nutrition, 53(5), 425-437.

Roos, N., Islam, M.M. and Thilsted, S.H., (2003). Small indigenous fish species in Bangladesh: contribution to vitamin A, calcium and iron intakes. The Journal of nutrition, 133(11), pp.4021S-4026S.

Roos, N., Mazharul Islam, M., & Thilsted, S. H. (2003). Small fish is an important dietary source of vitamin A and calcium in rural Bangladesh. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, 54(5), 329-339.

Shaheen N, Rahim AT, Mohiduzzaman M, Banu CP, Bari ML, Tukun AB, Mannan M, Bhattacharjee L, Stadlmayr B. (2013) Food composition table for Bangladesh.

Siddiqui, K. U., and Islam, M. A. (2007). Encyclopedia of flora and fauna of Bangladesh. (Freshwater Fishes: volume 23). Asiatic society of Bangladesh.

Thilsted, S.H., 2013. Case study 4: Fish diversity and fish consumption in Bangladesh. In Diversifying Food and Diets (pp. 270-282). Routledge.

Waid, J.L., Bogard, J.R., Thilsted, S.H. and Gabrysch, S., 2017. Estimates of average energy requirements in Bangladesh: Adult Male Equivalent values for use in analyzing household consumption and expenditure surveys. Data in brief, 14, pp.101-106.