This paper is based on a study drawing information from the concept of health and nutrition of rickshaw pullers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This study on rickshaw puller has been conducted on 200 rickshaw pullers of Dhaka city to anatomize their concept on health and nutrition. They’re from different areas like- Dhanmondi, Badda, Uttara, Mohammadpur, Bashabo- participated in the survey. 94% of Dhaka’s rickshaw-pullers reported that they’re going through so many complications such as health complication, income complications etc. They work hard, but their living, nutritional and living conditions are dreadful. Daily dietary nutrient intakes consumption of foods by food group was estimated using 24-h dietary recall method. Besides pulling a rickshaw, it represents more income than is available within the village, as urban rickshaw pullers come from a negative persistent poverty. Data were collected from randomly selected 200 rickshaw pullers using quantitative method. The other data were collected from journal paper, articles, thesis paper, daily newspapers etc.

Fatemah Sultana SK (2024) Concept of Health and Nutrition among Rickshaw Pullers in Dhaka city. J Hum Nutr Food Sci 12(1): 1186.

Introduction and Background Study

A rickshaw puller is a day laborer who earns his livelihood by pulling a rickshaw. He is familiar figure in our country. Generally, he lives in low-income slum areas. He carries passengers and goods in his rickshaw from one place to another on payment.

Rickshaws are the means of communication in many villages and towns of our country. It is also the livelihood of a large number of people. A rickshaw puller works hard from morning till night. He pulls his rickshaw in scorching sun, at chill winter nights and even in the heavy rains. They are not in a position to earn the needed amount of money to fulfill their basic needs of life. The poor people who enter in rickshaw pulling sector normally has no saving of cash money. His service is in equal demands in cities, towns, villages and metros. It is the rickshaw puller who takes us to those places where other means of transportation are not accessible.

The life of a rickshaw puller is very tough. He toils hard for the whole day without rest. He has no proper food to eat, nor does he take any rest. Some rickshaw pullers have their own rickshaws, while many hire from others. They have to give tired amounts to the owner of the rickshaw every day [1].

History

Rickshaw originates from the Japanese word, JINRIKISHA which means human powered vehicle. The first rickshaws were invented in France in the late 17th century, to fulfill along with other types of carriages. Rickshaw was independently invented in Japan circa 1869, though the origins of the rickshaw are not entirely clear. They seem to be Japanese, and of Tokyo specifically. The vehicle had a wooden carriage that was placed on wheels. Beforehand, there were only hand drawn rickshaws where the person had to pull the rickshaw with their hands. In the late 19th century, hand pulled rickshaws became an inexpensive, popular mode of transportation across Asia. Peasants who migrated to large Asian cities often worked first as a rickshaw puller. Singapore received its first rickshaws in 1880, and soon there were prolific, making a noticeable change in the traffic on Singapore’s streets. Bullock carts and gharries were used before rickshaws were introduced. Many of the poorest individuals in Singapore is the late 19th century were poverty stricken, unskilled people of Chinese ancestry. Sometimes called coolies, the hardworking men found that pulling a rickshaw was a new opportunity for employment. Cycle rickshaws were used in Singapore beginning in 1929, outnumbered by cycle rickshaws, which were also used by sightseeing tourists.

In the 1930s, cycle rickshaws were raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Kolkata, India and Jakarta, Indonesia. By 1950, they could be found in many south and East Asian countries.

Cycle rickshaws are used in many Asian, North American, European cities. They are increasingly being used as an ecofriendly way of short-range transportation, particularly in urban areas [2-5].

Types of rickshaws include

• A pulled rickshaw, a 2-wheeled passenger cart pulled by a human runner.

• A cycle rickshaw called a Pedi cab.

• An auto rickshaw, called a Baby taxi.

Life of a Rickshaw puller

Rickshaw is one of the most essential vehicles of busy life and one of the oldest and traditional vehicles of Dhaka and some other areas of India and other cities. Civil life cannot be imagined without rickshaw. Although the capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka, but it is mainly known as “THE RICKSHAW RAJDHANI”. Above 40% of people in this city ride rickshaws every day. Because rickshaw is a wonderful combination of middle class, effort and affordability. A rickshaw is found near the office, school, college or market. They can also be seen at bus stands, railway station or hospitals. The cities of Bangladesh have been experiencing overwhelming population growth and extreme poverty. This is in part a result of plural poverty which has led to the migration of poor people from rural to urban areas in search of a better life, better job, opportunities and better social service. Most of these plural migrants are fascinated into the easiest ways of the urban sector such as petty retail trait transport manufacturing, construction rickshaw pulling and domestic services. A person who makes a living by driving a rickshaw is called “RICKSHAW PULLER”. Rickshaw pullers are the most disadvantageous section of the people who are engaged in transportation activities for getting their means of livelihood; because pulling of rickshaw is menial and hazardous occupation. They are quite familiar in cities and town. Many rickshaw pullers in Dhaka came from very poor economic background. They are very unfortunate and lead a very miserable life. Their life is full of sorrow and sufferings. He finds great pleasure to serve human beings at a minimum cost. We must treat him as a useful member of society.

In spite of all these odd conditions, he feels proud to live on his fair earnings from his sweat. A rickshaw puller is seen sleeping on his rickshaw beneath a tree or sitting idly on his rickshaw. Sweat is his, close fond and this leaves a peculiar smell on his body. Though he drives rickshaw from morning till late night. Most of the rickshaw puller are very poor and have little education and few skills. According to the demand their income share is very low. Recommunication is less than their hard work. However, even though they work hard, he can’t change his destiny. He comes out on the roads and streets early in the morning and works with his rickshaw till the late hours of the right. In all good or bad weather, we can see they have been carrying their along well with passengers. However, he gets into fights sometimes with passenger over fares. Some rickshaw pullers have their own rickshaw but in any need of money they have to borrow from the owner of the rickshaw pullers or from the unauthorized lenders in high interest rate. A large number of them start life of rickshaw puller to repay their debt.

The highest income of rickshaw pullers were 72% earned between BDT 300/400 per day, but only 6% get more than BDT 500 in a day. About 64% was access electricity of rickshaw pullers and 36% no access to electricity. He takes his meal which depends on his income. Sometime he takes 3 times, 2 times or sometimes he stays empty stomach also. Maximum time that takes their food from the road side. He doesn’t take necessary food according to demand. And they are also not concerned about their food. They usually take too much junk food like tea, oily food and cigarettes, which are very harmful to the body. Due to taking these junk food; they are affected by various diseases. Sometimes they can afford the treatment and sometimes they can’t. There were found 22% respondents. In underweight at their dwelling topographic sites in Tangail district. About 28% respondents had cough and cold, 18% diarrhea and 10% asthma and gastric, ulcer suffers according to the study.

Most of the discourse on reproductive health focuses almost entirely on women and tends to view men as either irrelevant or problematic actors. In most settings men receive inadequate attention and are less likely to seek health care than women.in larger cities, rickshaw pullers constitute a significant proportion of the poor; more than 3 million men, with approximately 10 million people depending on them. Most rickshaw pullers work six days per week on one of two shifts [6].

How to improve the lives of Rickshaw Pullers:

Rickshaw pullers are key to sustaining urban mobility in Dhaka city. Yet they are among the most marginalized members of society. Rickshaw Pullers live in precarious urban environments and struggle to rise out of a chronic poverty trap. In their work they face the daily challenges of restrictions on their activities, harassment from passengers and the traffic police, traffic jams and accidents. Rickshaw pullers might be supported better through licenses, economic inventive, and prioritizing their contribution to improving Dhaka’s traffic system.

Risks may they face due to lack of knowledge about health:

Due to lack of knowledge about nutrition, they have no idea that nutritious food can be taken for less money. They and their family members suffer from malnutrition due to lack of knowledge about nutrition. Among them are pregnant mothers and small children.

Due to lack of knowledge about nutrition, they face various diseases due to lack of adequate nutrition and they are totally ignorant about that.

Lack of knowledge about nutrition in pregnant or parturient mothers’ leads to premature death. Sometimes babies are born with disabilities or low birth weight. Due to which the infant mortality rate is increasing.

A malnourished child is born with a lack of nutrition and health as well as a lack of self-needs.

Due to lack of knowledge about nutrition, they often mistake expensive food for nutritious food [7].

At different time different research paper has shown the characteristics of rickshaw pullers. A brief chart in the form of Matrix is shown below regarding their nutritional status, dietary pattern, socio economic status in several district of Bangladesh and other countries:

General Objective

The main objective of the study was to assess whether the rickshaw pullers have any concept of health and nutrition.

Specific Objectives

1. To identify whether rickshaw pullers have any concept about health and its importance in life.

2. To identify whether ill health has any impact on performance.

3. To assess whether rickshaw puller have any concept of nutritious foods.

4. To find fruitful recommendation for increasing the concept of good health among the rickshaw pullers.

HYPOTHESIS

“Rickshaw pullers lack knowledge of good health and nutrition.”

Among thousands of problems of small poor Bangladesh, one of the most serious national problems is malnutrition, financial starvation, food crisis, lack of nutrition knowledge and superstitions are the main causes. Foreign expert Bright field wrote that at least half of the people in Bangladesh are undernourished, among them there are people from a single profession, who are known as rickshaw drivers in the society, because of the lack of awareness and knowledge about nutrition among the people of this profession, there is a big obstacle in the development of nutrition. In the past decade, the development of people’s socio-economic status and the increase in purchasing power, there has been a great change in people’s eating habits in the professional workplace. There is a huge supply of balanced food.

Only because of the knowledge about what amount and what kind of food ingredients have nutritional qualities, due to the lack of important nutrients, various diseases have appeared among the rickshaw pullers of different ages, due to not taking remedial measures for these diseases in time, physical and mental disasters have occurred, so through this research A rickshaw puller will be educated about food intake while maintaining the availability and nutritional quality of food and the mothers and children present in his family will be made aware of complementary food so that no child will be malnourished and will not enter a self centered state of depersonalization due to lack of physical and mental growth. And will not become lazy apathetic dependent citizens. By educating them about nutrition and health, we can correct their misconceptions and provide them with correct information, thereby improving their nutritional problems and providing nutrition awareness to their families, children and pregnant mothers to prevent diseases and malnutrition. It is possible to protect them from severe losses and bring them financial stability by meeting their nutritional need. As a result, we can greatly reduce the level of malnutrition and improve the nutrition of a section of the country’s population. By warning them and spreading the knowledge about our nutrition like a net, one can spread the knowledge among the people as a result of which the overall development of the country is possible. Therefore, this research is above all to know about their health and nutrition knowledge and to make them aware about it and to improve their health and nutrition will play the necessary role [8-10].

Type of Study

The study is descriptive. It is based on primary data. Information was gathered by interviewing the rickshaw pullers personally and on the spot, where they clustered.

Area of Study

This study was carried out at different places in Dhaka city where rickshaw pullers are available.

Conceptual Frame Work.

The areas are:

• Dhanmondi [Figure 1(a)]

• Mohammadpur [Figure 1(b)]

Figure 1: Map of Dhanmondi and Mohammadpur area study location

• Farmgate [Figure 2(a)]

• Lalmatia [Figure 2(b)]

Figure 2: Map of Farmgate and Lalmatia area study location

• Uttara [Figure 3(a)]

• Bashabo [Figure 3(b)].

Figure 3: Map of Uttara and Bashabo area study location

Sample Selection Size

This study was conducted among 200 rickshaw pullers who were from different places. When collecting data for a qualitative project, a researcher seeks an in-depth description of a phenomenon. Participants may be asked to discuss personal details of their life experiences. Research data were collected in a non-imposing manner to the respondents’ whether emotional or financial.

Method

Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed. Interview method is perfect for this particular study. And it is a very suitable tool for qualitative research. Creswell (2012) mentioned. “In qualitative research, you ask open-ended questions so that the participants can best voice their experiences unconstrained by any perspectives of the researcher or past research findings. An open-ended response to a question allows the participant to create the options for responding.

Sample criteria

Samples were rickshaw pullers pulling rickshaws in different places in Dhaka city. The interviews were held in respondents’ native language- Bengali. This entire interview was recorded with the consent of the participants and afterwards it was transcribed and translated into proper English for data analysis purposes.

Duration of study

The study was conducted from August to December. During their period standard questionnaire, data collection, data analysis and final report writing were completed.

Data Collection Method

A semi structured questionnaire covering the topic was developed. Relevant areas as income, dietary habits and knowledge about healthy foods were included. The questionnaire was filed checked and required connections were made before finalizing it. The final questionnaire was developed in Bangla and English in the Appendix.

Data Processing and Analysis

After completion of survey data were ted to computer in a data base for analysis. One major advantage of the interview is its adaptability. An interview is not merely a device for gathering information. It is a process of constructing reality to which both parties (the researcher and the participant) contribute and by which both are affected in respect of their thoughts, ideas, viewpoints and theories.

Like one of the respondents said, “No, I don’t have any plans for the future; I will try to support my children’s education as long as I can. But if I don’t have money for food then how can I afford their education.”

Another one said, “What do you mean by Nutritious food? My wife prepares paratha or Ruti sometimes with egg. And most of the time I eat outside of home.”

Questionnaire

Structured and scaling questionnaire were used in this study. Basic core expended and optional variables with regards to socioeconomic demographic data (age, education, family backgrounds, monthly income, choice of accommodation, food expenses etc.) knowledge about good health and nutrition, children health, pregnant mother nutrition and medical status were corporate into the question.

Collection of Socio-Economic Information

The present study involves an analysis of some basic information regarding the social, economic as well the educational condition of the rickshaw pullers of Dhaka city. The sample consists of 200 rickshaw pullers. It also involves the problems which are facing by them.

• Rickshaw pullers Hardships - Most of the respondents said that they faced some problem in managing their tuition fees at the end of the month. Either they had to work hard for a few days or borrow some cash from relatives. One of the respondent said,“Money is the only thing that matters in this world. No one is there to help. When it is necessary, I work day and night to arrange the money.”

• Opportunity costs- Some rickshaw pullers said that, “certificate is everything. If you have a certificate then you can do anything.” Also, some of them disagreed to that and said, “if my sons worked a little instead of studying, our income could have been increased.”

• Not much expectations from government- All the respondents shared that – “Government is doing nothing. They do not consider about our welfare. They even prohibit entering rickshaw in various roads now we have to take the longer roads and in longer routes fare is less.”

Data Verification

The questionnaire was checked each day after the interview. Again, these were checked carefully after completion of all data collection.

Quality Control Methods

Research study was strongly supervised by field test study was done for quality control during the whole study period. Supervisor helped us to make the research paper in a proper way. Supervisor and co-supervisor gave extensive hands-on techniques of interviewing, sample collection, processing and keeping records.

Study Procedure: Training on Research Methodology.

Data Collection

The questionnaire was structured which will aid in collecting data. It was in the start formed in English however, later converted to Bangla for making it easier for the participants to giver answer. The major purpose is to derive information on their awareness and knowledge about concept of health and nutrition [11,12].

Training on Research Methodology

Data Cleaning

The process of maintaining the accuracy of collected data and eliminating the incorrect records of data table of information and replacing them with correct data by modifying them [13-15].

The following data verification/ cleaning methods were

followed:

1. Printed out data on listed variables and tallied with the

data sheet

1. Treated all blank cells for better database
2. Avoided duplication
3. Pointing errors
4. Unnecessary space was removed
5. Converted all texts into numbers
6. Checked all the spelling properly

Data Coding and Re-coding

To abide by proper anonymity of names and addresses re- coded every identity of the responders.

Data Entry

Suitable software was used to code the collected data by the group members out on the entry.

Data Quality Control

1. For the quality assurance each data will be double checked followed by entering the data into the PC for logical check.

2. Data collected from each interviewee will be coded and analyzed.

Data Analysis Plan

1. Each questionnaire filled with data will be monitored to check for its proper fill-up process.

2. Analysis will be made with by the help of SPSS software.

The study mainly aimed to assess whether the average rickshaw puller of Dhaka city has any concept about the nutritional value of foods and their correlation with price, their impact on health, and quality of life. Also, to assess the correlation between their health condition and performance. From this study, we observed that 34.5% of the rickshaw puller belong to the age group of over 40 years, but a majority of the rickshaw pullers, about 54.5%, were in the age range of 26 to 40 years. Our study also found that a large portion (35.50%) of the rickshaw pullers is illiterate and started rickshaw pulling below the age of 30 (27.50%). This result indicates that in Bangladesh, rickshaw pulling may be considered the first go for earning money in the illiterate young generation who are able-bodied. A study by JICA suggested that a rickshaw puller in Dhaka can earn up to 14,000 BDT (approximately US$ 178) per month, which is almost five times higher than the minimum wage set in the country’s booming garments sector (Tamanna, et al., 2015). Another study focusing on rickshaw pullers’ life in Dhaka revealed that they could not continue their work because of physical weakness and exhaustion as they grew old (Begum et al). Around 60% of rickshaw pullers of our study work full day while only 61% earn within the range of 500 to 800 taka. However, 57.3% of them are left with below 500 Tk because of the fee they have to pay to the rickshaw owner and have snacks throughout the day to keep going. This result indicates that most rickshaw pullers toil for the whole day but their monthly income is less than 12,000 TK as they cannot pull a rickshaw every day. A study by Mahjabin et al. also shows similar findings to our current study. They experience poor health as a result of their lower income. This disparity in the rickshaw pullers’ pay may result from their physical prowess, geographic location, or other factors. In a study on the dietary habits and nutritional status of rickshaw drivers, it was discovered that cereals made up the majority of their daily diet, fats and oils made up the least amount of it (Ahmed & Islam, et al), which was consistent with findings from the National Nutrition Survey on rural populations (INFS, et al). The food consumption data revealed that 55.50% of the rickshaw pullers select the foods based on their price and the likeness of the family members. Using the 24- h dietary recall method, our study conducted on the dietary pattern and nutritional status of the rickshaw pullers revealed that the significant source portion of their daily diet came from Rice, Dal, and Potatoes which are high in protein and carbohydrates. Our study further found that no rickshaw puller eats fruits, but most rickshaw pullers consume foods with high nutritional value, like Fish, Eggs, and Chicken, only once or twice a week. Thus, the absence of a balanced diet may be the main reason for the malnutrition and health hazard of the rickshaw pullers of Dhaka city and leave a large energy gap in their dietary habit. The exceptionally higher physical activity level led to this large energy gap that damages not only the health of the rickshaw pullers but also the whole family. Being underweight may be due to low energy intake with a diet more dependent on cereal-based foods with less incorporation of fats and oils. This finding is similar to a study conducted on Indian rickshaw pullers (Nirmala et al).

For assessing the nutritional knowledge of the rickshaw pullers, we found out that 31.5% of the rickshaw pullers consider not suffering from any kind of disease and being energetic (27.5%) to be the primary indicator of good health. Also, about nutritious foods, 62% of rickshaw pullers consider them expensive, 41.5% consider them food with a higher protein, and 21% fruits with higher prices. As a result, they abstain from buying this kind of food. However, surprisingly, 37.5% of them answered that cheap food might also have high nutritional value. Also, 41% of the rickshaw pullers consider feeling weak is a symptom of malnutrition. This confusion and be identified that they do not have sufficient and explicit knowledge about the nutritious value of the foods, which supports the hypothesis of our thesis that Rickshaw pullers lack knowledge of good health of nutrition. However, most rickshaw pullers have some general knowledge about the need for nutritious foods for pregnant women and the need for healthy foods for children. This knowledge may be due to the extensive work of the different NGOs and govt health workers to ensure the health of pregnant women and children. However, they lack the knowledge that prolonged malnutrition of their breastfeeding women can have their children. This result indicates that more effort should be given to improving the understanding of the rickshaw pullers.

Given the individuals’ socioeconomic circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that their financial constraints mainly caused their poor nutritional quality and negative energy balance. However, initiatives should be made to teach society’s working population groups about nutrition fundamentals, emphasizing how a healthy diet can increase working ability (Appendix).

The following are the highlights of the study:

1. A total of 200 rickshaw pullers were randomly selected from different sections of the Dhaka city and were personally interviewed by the students.
2. Among them 36 % of rickshaw pullers belonged to the age range above 40 years and only 8% belonged to the age group of 20-25 years.
3. Most of the rickshaw pullers were illiterate (55.5%). A large section of them had no formal education. Only 29% had studied up to primary level.
4. Despite of their low income, most of the rickshaw pullers had family consisting of 6-7 members. This shows that the families lived a substandard life.
5. Rickshaw pullers had long duration of work experience. The study shows that 66.5% had more than 5 years of rickshaw pulling.
6. Rickshaw pulling was started at an early age. 35% started their job as early as 15-20 years, the study revealed.
7. Average daily earning ranged from 700-800 taka. Average daily money left after paying the owner was only 500-700 taka.
8. Cost of living showed that 100% of the rickshaw pullers spent a large amount on daily food shopping. House rent was the next expensive item of expenditure (80%) as commented by them, followed by medicines and educations.
9. Rice and dal were consumed daily by 100% of them, followed by potatoes, bananas among fruits. Fish, eggs, milk were consumed only 1-2 times a weak. The food intake pattern shows predominance of high carbohydrate, starchy diets, lacking protein, iron & vitamins.
10. When asked about the concept of good health, 45% commented that being energetic, not getting sick and having good sleep are parameters of good health.
11. Expensive foods like milk, eggs, meat are nutritious, commented 62% of rickshaw pullers.
12. About half of the studied samples do not know that nutritious foods are good for children. The facts that maternal malnutrition is harmful for children are not known by 49.5% of the studied sample.
13. The maternal malnutrition has bad effects is not known by 72% of them; the rest have no idea.

Rickshaw pullers comprise a significant portion of the working population in Bangladesh. The fact that this increasing workforce has very poor concept of health and nutrition demands attention; that they should be informed about the importance of good health especially of mothers and children. In light of this, the following recommendations are made:

1. Special learning tools need to be adopted to educate them about good health and nutrition, through the use of different media.
2. Education on nutrition by using cheaper foods can be demonstrated to them.
3. Ideas should be given on how to buy nutritious food at low cost. So that the budget will be fixed and they will be able to eat nutritious food.
4. They should be advised to eat more green vegetables and fruits.
5. In addition to work, they must rest more. Because rest is a part of success, health and happiness.
6. Glucose gives instant kick of energy to our body. So, rickshaw pullers can take sugar sherbet only when they are sweating more than normally, they sweat.
7. Rickshaw pullers need more strength to their body. So, they should be advised not to take cigarettes. Since smoking affects every body system, finding a way to quit is the most important step you can take to living a longer and happier life.
8. The rickshaw pullers are unaware of many things about their pregnant wives and small children. So, they must look out for them.
9. We should give advice about their food habit, like exchanging food. By doing this, they can eat balanced food with equal amount of nutrients.
10. And of course, we have to educate them that they should intake foods that give more energy.
11. Moreover, vegetables should be cultivated at home to meet the food demand.
12. Also, they should be advised to poultry farming for protein intake.
13. Developing a wide range of low-cost financial products and services including social security needs as per the capacity and life cycle needs of the Rickshaw Puller.
14. Most of the rickshaw pullers are illiterate and poor. So, providing financial literacy to rickshaw pullers can be explored.
15. Ensuring awareness and health conditions to the rickshaw pullers and their family members towards a better society.

1. We have limited time to submit the work, so our sample size was small.
2. Many rickshaw pullers were not willing to answer the question and some did not understand the questions.
3. Many were encouraged to answer questions but couldn’t due to time and situation. Because they need enough time to answer those questions.
4. If we had enough budget facilities, then rickshaw pullers could have earned through our research and services.
5. Financial crisis limited our work expenses for travel. Stationeries were high to meet with our limited resources.
6. If these limitations could be met, the study could have been revealed more satisfactory results.

The overall analysis of the study reveals that the rickshaw pullers are one of the poorest sections of the society, living in abject poverty but play a pivotal role in intra-city transportation system.

Majority  of  them  suffer  from  cough  and cold, joint, back and chest pains, asthma and tuberculosis which lead to their untimely deaths. There should be the provision of dispensary, medical insurance at cheap and easy premium and housing facilities for the families of rickshaw pullers, and special drives have to be taken to improve the literacy level, with special emphasis on vocational education for the children and other family members of the rickshaw pullers. Rickshaw pullers lack of awareness and appreciation for the health needs are just a symptom of larger issue. If Rickshaw Pullers can be made aware about the benefits of saving the money for their own security, then a long-lasting positive change can be brought into their lives and their families. Moreover, the cost of living is going rapidly very high then the income level increases, so it remains challenges every time. There is some positive change in the food intake of food of the rickshaw pullers and their dependents in the quality and also in the frequency of food taking.

All praises to Allah, the benevolent and the kind. Without his blessing, none of this would have been possible. We take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to our honorable madam Naimun Nahar, Vice Principle, Department of Food and Nutrition, National College of Home Economics; for her guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout this course.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have supported us throughout the course of our studies and contributed towards this thesis. Without them this thesis would not have been possible.

We would like to pay our gratitude to our thesis supervisor, Prof. Shaheen Ahmed, for providing us continuous support and guideline to perform this research work and to prepare this concerted dissertation. Her contribution to us can only be acknowledged but never be compensated. Her consistent inspiration helped us to work diligently throughout the completion of this research work and also contributed to our ability to approach and solve a problem. Without her continuous guidance this dissertation would not has been materialized. At last, we want to thank our institute. Last but not the least, special gratitude goes to the team for working with sincerity and dedication to make this study possible to the best of their abilities.

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