Food consumption pattern is a strong indicator of nutritional and health status of a community. This study was conducted to assess the frequency of consumption of foods belong to different food groups and daily intake of individual food groups by the adults of Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Equal number of male (n=100) and female (n=100) between the ages of 20 and 40 from rural, semi-urban, and urban regions of Haldwani, Kumaon, Uttarakhand were selected for the study. Food frequency questionnaire and 24-h recall method were used to get the information on food intake. Anthropometric measurements were conducted using standard methodology. Data was analyzed in Dietcal software and statistically analyzed using the statistics package SPSS for windows. Results indicated that both the male and female had significantly lower values of height however, higher values of weight and body mass index than the reference values. Further, results indicated that daily mean intake of pulses, fruits and vegetables, nuts and oil seeds, and milk was significantly lower than the recommended intake levels whereas the daily intake of cereals (309.3g), fats and oils (37.2g), sugar and jaggery (38.5g) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than their respective RDIs among male respondents however, the female respondent had significantly (p<0.05) higher intake of fats and oils (34.1g) and sugars and jaggery (37.3g). Most of the respondents consumed rice, wheat, potato, onion, tomato, milk, tulsi, oil, and sugar on a daily basis. The food consumption pattern is a strong indicator of nutritional and health status of a community. Information on dietary intake patterns may be used to predict the nutritional deficiency disorders in a community.

Keyword: Food consumption; Food frequency; Food groups; Dietary intake.