Environment and intake of village and city life:
In villages, the people live in an open atmosphere. They get fresh air and sunlight. They inhale more oxygen, which they get from trees and crops, which grow in their fields. As compared to people in cities, people in villages lead a tension free life. There is not much noise in villages. In villages, people generally get fresh vegetables and pure milk and also consume lesser amount of fast food, which is very harmful. There are, however, certain advantages, which the urban people have over the villages.
In cities, people get better education as there are so many schools, colleges, universities and libraries. Better medical facilities are available in cities, as there are so many big hospitals and dispensaries, which are not available in villages. In cities one can have more variety of goods including food and wearing articles. We can get food of choice at hotels and restaurants. Thus in some ways, villages are better while in some cities are better.
Many statistically significant differences were noted in the mean daily intake of various nutrients by the urban and rural . For most of the nutrients differences in mean intake by less affluent and affluent urban are less noticeable and statistically significant.
The mean consumption of calories, protein. total fats, sugar and cholesterol was higher among the urban whereas the average daily intake of carbohydrates, fibre and starch was higher among the rural.
The diets of rural children had a higher polyunsaturated : saturated fatty acid ratio. Percentage energy from fats was higher and that from carbohydrates was lower in the urban group. Mean intake of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, niacin, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E was higher in the urban group.
