DIET, INCOME, AND SUBSISTENCE IN AN EASTERN HIGHLAND VILLAGE, PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA

This study examines the influence of cash income and subsistence production on dietary patterns in a village in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Data on food frequencies were collected from thirteen households on sixty-nine randomly chosen days over an eleven-month period in 1977. Frequency of consumption of foods in several key subsistence and purchased food groups is used as a surrogate measure of dietary quality. Analysis indicates that frequency of consumption of garden greens, legumes, and subsistence crops in general is positively related to involvement in subsistence agriculture. No significant relationships are revealed between frequency of consumption of energy-dense and protein-rich purchased foods and household income. Instead, income is strongly and positively associated with expenditures on alcoholic beverages. Purchased foods enhance dietary quality, but villagers' consumption of store-bought foods is highly seasonal. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.