Measurement and spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of dietary diversity among Chinese residents

The purpose of this paper is to measure the dietary diversity and to analyze the regional characteristics, differences, and evolutionary trends of dietary diversity among Chinese residents.

In this paper, the dietary diversity among Chinese residents was measured using the Shannon index based on the provincial-level food consumption data from 1995 to 2021. On this basis, the paper employs analysis methods such as kernel density estimation, spatial correlation test, and Dagum's Gini coefficient to analyze the regional characteristics, differences, and trends of change in dietary diversity.

During the study period, the dietary diversity among Chinese residents showed an increasing trend. Among the four major geographic regions, the dietary diversity was highest in the southern region, followed by the northern region, northwest region, and Qinghai-Tibet region. Among the three major economic regions, the dietary diversity was highest in the eastern region, followed by the central region and western region. There was a significant positive spatial correlation in the dietary diversity among Chinese residents, and both high-high agglomeration and low-low agglomeration phenomena were strengthened. In terms of the trend of regional differences, whether overall differences, interregional differences, or intraregional differences, they all showed a shrinking trend. However, interregional differences were the main source of overall differences in dietary diversity among Chinese residents.

The dietary diversity among Chinese residents shows an overall increasing trend, and there are regional differences in dietary diversity from the perspectives of economic and geographic regions, which have been narrowing over time.