Dietary protein quality and lysine adequacy among urban casual labour households in Ludhiana City of Punjab, India

Le résumé fourni par la source

Protein quality, determined by indispensable amino acid composition and digestibility, is crucial for efficient utilization, with lysine being the primary limiting amino acid in cereal-based diets.In India, predominantly plant-based diets rely heavily on cereals for protein, which, despite meeting energy needs, often provide low-quality protein due to inadequate lysine and poor digestibility.Therefore, to identify major food sources contributing to protein and lysine intake and assess dietary protein quality in terms of lysine intake among fifty casual labour households of urban areas of Ludhiana City, Punjab, India, including construction and factory workers.An occupational group-based cross-sectional study was conducted using a household-level dietary assessment.Protein quality was evaluated using total protein intake, lysine intake, protein-energy ratio, protein-CHO ratio, food group contribution analysis, and nutrient adequacy indicators.Diets of urban casual labour households were predominantly cereal-based, with cereals contributing the largest share of total protein intake.However, cereals contributed a disproportionately lower share of lysine intake (1383.86mg/d per capita).Although, total protein intake levels were low (25.68 g/d per capita) in several households, lysine intake was frequently adequate (76.3 to 95.0%) relative to reference requirements.Pulses, milk and milk products, and animal-source foods contributed a higher proportion of dietary lysine despite overall adequate consumption.Nutrient adequacy assessment revealed that lysine adequacy was more prevalent than total protein adequacy.Differences between construction and factory labour households were modest, with both groups exhibiting similar dependence on the same-quality protein sources.The study integrates lysine-based protein quality assessment with household-level dietary analysis in an understudied urban labour population, revealing a critical mismatch between protein quantity and amino acid adequacy in cereal-dominated diets, highlighting its novelty.Nutritional interventions and national food programmes should go beyond calorie adequacy and address protein quantity by improving access to lysine-rich foods such as pulses and dairy products to improve nutritional adequacy among vulnerable socio-economic populations.

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