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Self-perceived health, a subjective assessment of health status, is influenced by state of economic independence and employment status after controlling for other demographic, social and health-related factors, particularly for elderly people as they tend to face discrimination in intra-household resource allocation. Being economically independent and employed increase the likelihood of elderly people rating their health as good/excellent compared to others and employment status came out as even more impactful. This study provides new insights by observing that across the expenditure quintile groups of the households, the importance of these variables varies as the bias in intra-household resource allocation against elderly people is supposed to increase with declining economic resources of the households. Economic independence improves the likelihood of rating one's health as good/excellent in the lowest expenditure quintile much more compared to those in the uppermost expenditure quintile. For employed too, the positive influence of employment status on self-perceived health of elderly people has been strictly increasing as we move down the expenditure quintiles of households.

Four minor seed oils from Abroma augusta (AA), Annona squamosa (AS), Bombax ceiba (BC) and Ceiba pentandra (CP) plants were refined and refined seed oils were analyzed for their physicochemical properties. All the refined seed oils had normal physicochemical characteristics. The seed oils except CP also had usual fatty acid composition and contained a higher proportion of unsaturated fatty acids namely linoleic and oleic, a suitable criterion of edibility of vegetable oils. In addition to normal fatty acids, the refined CP seed oil also contained 10.6% cyclopropenoid fatty acids (CPFA), therefore, is not recommended as a dietary source of fat unless a suitable method is developed for its removal or detoxification. Nutritional evaluation of the refined seed oils were carried out in rats by feeding the respective oils and peanut oil as control at 10% level in a 20% protein diet with adequate vitamins and minerals. The refined CP seed oil showed poor growth performance, low FER, altered lipid metabolism and histopathological abnormalities in the liver which indicate the unsuitability of it for edible purpose. Growth performances, FER, serum and liver lipids, organ weights and histopathological findings of other three minor oils were satisfactory and comparable to that of peanut oil, therefore, they can be considered for edible use.