Assessing and Enhancing Dietary Diversity among Women of Reproductive Age in Tanzania: Insights from the Tanzania National Panel Survey Wave 4 Data

Studying the Minimum Dietary Diversity of Women of reproductive age (MDD-W) is of paramount public health importance, considering their vulnerability due to intensified nutritional necessities during pregnancy and lactation. This study seeks to create a proxy for MDD-W in Tanzania, which is general missing in national-level surveys. We analyzed data from Tanzania National Panel survey wave 4 (TNPS) from which sixty food items were considered and grouped into 10 food categories as per Food and Agriculture Organization guide (2021). We considered only female household members aged 15–49 years. Data of women of reproductive age (WRA) were linked, person’s unique identifiers, with other characteristics related to food consumption and household’s data files. Grain, roots and tuber were consumed by majority (56.62%) while meat, poultry and fish by 19.3% and the rest of food groups by less than 3%. Slightly more than half (57%) of the women consumed from at least two food groups and collective MDD-W of the group was 1.83%. For that reason, none of the women attained a minimum dietary diversity for women of reproductive age. The findings suggest a potential contributor to micronutrient deficiencies in Tanzania and the insights from the study highlight the need for diversified diets to improve nutrition and health outcomes for this specific group under the study.