Eating groups within households: Differentiation in food consumption by age, gender, and genealogical position in rural Burkina Faso

Inequalities in food access and consumption underlie the persistence of food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa. While there has been important work documenting differences among rural households and demographic groups, there remains comparatively little work documenting differences of food consumption within rural African households. To address this gap, a novel approach was developed to monitor differences in food consumption within 120 rural households in Burkina Faso with a focus on women and children. At monthly intervals (across 11 months), 24-hour recall data were collected of the amount of grain prepared and allocated among eating groups, the groups of household members eating from separate bowls. Seven-day recall data were also collected for the instances of major food groups accompanying grain dishes and allocation of these accompaniments among eating groups. Eating groups are generally segregated by gender and age. Multi-level regression analyses (with household and month as random effect variables) were performed with grain consumption and food group bias regressed on the fixed factors of female and child fractions of eating group adult-male equivalents and the genealogical position of eating group leaders. Results show eating group composition significantly affects grain consumption as mediated by the genealogical position of eating group leaders. Depending on genealogical position, female- or children- dominated groups can display higher, or more commonly, lower consumption rates than male groups. Consumption of non-grain accompaniments shows no significant bias by gender or age except for meat, which is consumed more by male groups led by a member of the household head’s generation. These results illustrate the complex interplay of gender, age, and household structure in shaping differences in food consumption within rural households.