Abstract

Food security and nutrition are central to human development and are closely linked to poverty reduction, public health, and social stability. In Nepal, households face multiple risks to achieving adequate food consumption and dietary diversity due to poverty, inequality, migration, rising food prices, and climate change. These challenges not only affect the quantity of food available to households but also its quality, diversity, and nutritional value. Ensuring that all individuals have access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food remains a priority policy goal and is integral to the country’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
This study aims to analyze the determinants of household food security, dietary diversity, and nutrition using nationally representative data from the Nepal Living Standards Survey IV (2022/23). A set of well-defined variables has been constructed to capture the multidimensional nature of food security. Dependent variables are based on food insecurity experiences, such as worrying about food shortages, inability to afford nutritious meals, skipping meals, reducing portion sizes, and in extreme cases going without food for an entire day. These items are aggregated into a binary indicator of food insecurity, coded as “1” for households experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity, and “0” for food-secure households.
Explanatory variables capture household diets and nutrition through food consumption and expenditure data. These include dietary diversity, measured as the number of food groups consumed in the past week; per capita food expenditure, which reflects household purchasing power; and the share of food consumed that is home-produced, which indicates self-sufficiency and resilience to market fluctuations. Other nutritional indicators include the frequency of consumption of animal-sourced foods (meat, milk, eggs), fruits, vegetables, and processed items, all of which signal diet quality. To complement this, variables on eating outside the home are used to examine the role of urbanization and lifestyle changes in shaping dietary behavior. Similarly, household size, age, sex, and education level of the household head, as well as income sources, remittance receipt, employment status, and asset ownership. Spatial and geographic controls—such as urban-rural location and provincial affiliation are also included to capture structural disparities in food access and market integration.
For empirical analysis, the study employs a logit model to estimate the probability of a household being food insecure. The binary dependent variable, constructed from the food insecurity experience indicators, is regressed on the explanatory and control variables. The logit specification allows for the interpretation of marginal effects, which quantify how changes in household characteristics and food consumption patterns alter the likelihood of food insecurity.
It is observed that approximately 22–25 percent of households are likely to experience moderate to severe food insecurity, with rural and low-income households disproportionately affected. A 10 percent increase in per capita food expenditure is projected to reduce the likelihood of food insecurity by about 3 to 4 percentage points, while households consuming at least seven food groups per week are expected to have 15–18 percent lower odds of food insecurity compared to those with low diversity. Remittance-receiving households are estimated to be 8–10 percent less likely to be food insecure, whereas households headed by women with low education are expected to face a 12 percent higher risk of food insecurity. Participation in nutrition-related social assistance programs such as school meals or food transfers is predicted to lower food insecurity by 5–7 percentage points among targeted groups, underscoring the importance of safety nets in improving household resilience.
The findings of this study are expected to provide critical evidence for policy formulation in Nepal. By identifying vulnerable groups and the main drivers of food insecurity, the results will inform the design of nutrition-sensitive social protection programs, agricultural policies that support diverse food production, and interventions that improve access to affordable, nutritious foods. The study will contribute directly to monitoring Nepal’s progress toward SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), particularly Target 2.1 on ending hunger and ensuring access to sufficient food, and Target 2.2 on ending all forms of malnutrition. Indirectly, it will also support SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), since food security is intrinsically tied to income security and health outcomes.