Original Research Article
Year: 2021 | Month: April | Volume: 11 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 255-262
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20210430
Understanding of Various Diet Preferences and Cognizance about Zoonotic Diseases
Archana Aggarwal1, Rakhi Gupta1, Shreya Rawat1, Kamakshi Upreti1, Bhumika Tiwari1, Radhika Kumari1, Anushka Kukreti1
1Zoology Department, Maitreyi College, University of Delhi, Delhi-110021
Corresponding Author: Rakhi Gupta
ABSTRACT
Diet preferences are dependent on one’s culture and habitat and play an indispensable role in the prevention, and management of various health issues. The high prevalence and persistence of food-related diseases are ramifying the human population globally. Although many are preventable through practices of adhering to healthy dietary patterns, and engaging in physical activity. The preponderance of evidence to date suggests that a plant-based diet can be protective and potentially curative for several chronic degenerative diseases and reduces the risk of zoonotic diseases. The present study was designed to analyse various diet preferences and awareness level about their role in the spread of zoonotic diseases amidst covid-19 pandemic.
The present cross-sectional study was conducted online with 757 randomly selected subjects residing in Delhi and NCR of India in the month of May-June, 2020. It was observed that 53.9% of subjects preferred a vegetarian diet. For a very high percentage (88.7%) of the subject’s selection criteria for a particular diet, was health quotient. 82.2% of subjects believed that meat consumption increases susceptibility to various infectious diseases including zoonotic diseases. However, only 40.5%, non-vegetarian subjects were willing to adopt a plant-based diet after the Covid-19 outbreak. It was found that majority of vegetarian and non-vegetarian subjects believed that eating animal products lead to spreading of zoonotic diseases.
Key words: Covid-19, Diet preference, Health, Vegetarian, Non-vegetarian, Zoonotic diseases.