Factsheet of the IDF N° 26/ 2023: Dairy in the nutritional empowerment of women

Publication description

This factsheet reviews scientific evidence of women’s dairy-related health and nutrition across the life course, and it outlines some potential roles of women’s empowerment programmes in these instances.

Systematic reviews are the primary source of information. (Mal)nutrition refers to protein-energy undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies like vitamin and mineral shortages (also called “hidden hunger”), and diet-related non-communicable diseases such as overweight/ obesity. These conditions are sometimes collectively labelled the “triple burden of malnutrition”, which may co-exist in an individual or within a household, especially in nutritionally insecure low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) (Faber & Wenhold, 2016). Industrialised countries are, however, not “immune” against the paradox of obesity coupled with poor protein and micronutrient status up to the point of disordered eating (Cheung et al., 2021; Kim et al., 2019). Food insecurity tends to be associated with poor dietary intakes, including dairy consumption below recommendations, among women (Johnson et al., 2018).

Cite this content as:

International Dairy Federation. (2023). Dairy in the nutritional empowerment of women (Factsheet of the IDF N° 26/2023). https://doi.org/10.56169/NIRO9930