The misuse of food group classifications for nutrition education in developing countries
1981
Ritchie, Jean
The use of food groupings to teach the public of developed nations to eat balanced diets has not been entirely successful; a more effective method might be based on encouraging an alteration of use of food items within the existing consumption patterns. The food group method is even less effective in developing countries, since it seldom fits local dietary patterns. The concept of food groups is valld only when a choice of foods is available; in many areas, milk and milk products come canned or dried, and are too expensive and too susceptible to contamination. The commonest forms of malnutrition are related to energy deficiency, the result of insufficient amount, not variety. Scanty resources would be better spent on the more economical sources of nutrition, such as cereals or legumes rather than meat. Within a food group, the variation of nutrient content is unseen, although the 10% difference in protein content of cereals and starchy roots could well be crucial to a hungry family. Dietary improvement should be based on appraisal of existing food patterns, availability of foods, and correctible faults.
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