The effect of socio-economic status and area of residence on household food variety in Morocco

Background: In Morocco, few studies have specifically addressed the association between food variety and household socio-economic status and area of residence. Aim: The study's objective was to obtain a qualitative description of food consumption in samples of Moroccan households and to examine the influence of socio-economic factors and area of residence on their food variety. Subjects and methods: A qualitative food frequency questionnaire was administered by adolescent school pupils in their own households between March 2005 and March 2006 in 526 households in the regions of Marrakesh north of the High Atlas range and Ouarzazate to the south. We calculated the Food Variety Index (FVI) based on 183 food items and compared scores for advantaged/disadvantaged and urban/rural households. Results: Mean FVI scores for all individuals and total food groups differ significantly between the area of residence, urban and peri-urban Marrakesh and urban Ouarzazate having the highest scores. The mean total FVI scores, presented according to the household's socio-economic status from highest to lowest, are 123.8 ± 17.1 for urban Marrakesh, 107.6 ± 21.6 for urban Ouarzazate, 92.0 ± 22.4 for rural Skoura, 110.5 ± 21.5 for peri-urban Marrakesh and 89.9 ± 10.8 for rural Iguerferouane (F-test = 26.7, p < 0.001). Advantaged households have significantly greater variety than disadvantaged households for all variables only in the two urban samples. In peri-urban Marrakesh and rural Skoura, there are no significant differences between advantaged and disadvantaged households. Conclusion: In our Moroccan sample, food variety is distributed according to two patterns: One based on area of residence, urban areas having greater variety than rural areas, and the other on socio-economic factors, with advantaged households having higher FVI values but only in urban areas. The limited availability of certain foods and food preferences by the populations mean that not all households are able to diversify their diets.