Household Food Expenditure Patterns, Food Nutrient Consumption and Nutritional Vulnerability in Nigeria: Implications for Policy

The study examined the patterns of food spending, food nutrient consumption, and nutrient deficiency profiles of households in Nigeria using a cross-sectional nationwide household survey data. Food nutrients were estimated from food expenditure data while the nutrient deficiency profiles were assessed adapting Foster et al. (1984) poverty index. The study established widespread nutritional deficiencies with low-income household cohorts bearing a greater burden of the deficiencies. Protein-protein deficiency appears to be much more prevalent in urban than rural areas. However, the deficiency of micro-nutrients seems to diffuse across urban-rural divides of the country with deficiency of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C appearing to be more pronounced in rural areas while phosphorous, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B3 deficiencies seem to be higher in urban settings. Pro-poor income growth strategies and sensitively guided urban-rural food and nutrition interventions are advocated for improved food consumption and nutritional deficiency reduction.