This paper investigates the dynamics of gender-based disparities in the intra-household
allocation of food during childhood and adolescence in India. By using three rounds of
longitudinal data from Young Lives, the paper documents the evolution of gender gaps in
dietary diversity and the consumption of different foods for two cohorts at different ages.
While no gender-based disparities in dietary quality occur at 5, 8 and 12 years old, a wide
pro-boy gap emerges at age 15. Specifically, mid-adolescent girls tend to consume fewer
protein- and vitamin-rich foods such as eggs, legumes, root vegetables, fruit and meat. This
result is robust to gender differences between adolescents in terms of puberty onset, timeuse
and dietary behaviours. Finally, gender differentials in dietary quality in mid-adolescence
do not vary by maternal education, poverty or place of residence, whilst they are moderated
by levels of the caregiver’s educational aspirations. Specifically, the pro-boy bias is
particularly marked amongst adolescents with ‘academically aspiring’ caregivers.