A Comparative Study of Gender Differences and Dietary Habits A Survey of the Iranian and Indian Students

The existence of a significant relationship between nutrition and disease has been proven by many scientific studies. Unhealthy food patterns take important part in producing chronic diseases, and expose the individual’s heath to different risks. Furthermore, social scientists have shown that dietary habits of the individuals bear significant association with some psycho-social and cultural factors. The present study seeks to describe and explain associations between patterns of dietary habits among men and women of University of M􀆗zandar􀆗n (Ir􀆗n) and Punjab University (India), along with several psych-social and cultural factors involved. The findings show that there are significant positive relationships between dietary habits and some variables such as gender, culture (nationality), socio-economic status of the family, health concerns, health knowledge, and health beliefs. Overall, Indian women and men students, as compared with their Iranian counterparts showed healthier and more positive dietary habits. This can protect them from chronic, non-infectious diseases.