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The distribution of energy and nutrient intakes within households
Author(s) -
Bull N. L.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of human nutrition and dietetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1365-277X
pISSN - 0952-3871
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-277x.1991.tb00125.x
Subject(s) - medicine , nutrient , environmental health , distribution (mathematics) , unit (ring theory) , mathematics , mathematical analysis , chemistry , mathematics education , organic chemistry
The assessment of dietary adequacy, using data from household food surveys, relies on the assumption that intakes of energy and nutrients are distributed within households in the same pattern as the recommended levels against which adequacy is being assessed. That this assumption is probably ill‐founded has been demonstrated by Nelson (1986). However, very little information is available on the actual distributions of dietary intake within households because dietary surveys usually cover either the household as a single unit or only a single member of each household. As part of a larger study, 73 individuals within 23 households all provided information using the 24‐h dietary recall technique. This data has been analysed using the method described by Nelson (1986) and the Fesults lend further support to the suggestion that the interpretation of dietary adequacy in household food surveys should take into account the distribution of nutrient intakes within the households.