Street foods and dietary intakes of Nigerian urban market women

The food and nutrient intake of 197 market women aged 19-66 years (mean 41 years) have been determined using questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recall. The contributions of street foods (SF) to total intake of food and nutrients were determined in order to quantify the importance of SF as a source of food and nutrients for these women. Eighty-three of the women were of child-bearing age (<49 years), Group I, while 114 were not (> 49 years). Overall, SF provided 63% of the weight of total food consumed. The mean energy intake was 11.5 MJ with the older women Group II consuming significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the younger age group (Group I). The contribution of SF to energy intake was similar (59%) for both groups. The older women (Group II) also consumed significantly (P < 0.05) more total protein than the younger women (110 vs 80 g) although SF contributed similar percentages (58 vs 59%). Mean calcium intake was high for the subjects (618 mg) but no significant differences were found between the two age cohorts. The proportion of calcium intake supplied by SF was 79% for Group I and 81% for Group II. There was a wide variation (8.1-16.5 mg) in total daily iron intake. Overall SF provided 57% of the pooled mean intake (12 mg). Mean iron intake for Group II was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of Group I. The contribution of SF to the intakes of vitamins was above 50% except for thiamin (47%) in the younger age cohort and Vitamin A (46%) in the older age group. The results suggest therefore that street foods constitute the major sources of dietary energy and other nutrients for market women in Nigeria.