Chapter 2:
Nutrition Requirements and Food Consumption


OBJECTIVES

By the end of this chapter, participants will have:

1. an understanding of what is meant by nutritional requirements and how they are
 calculated.

2. an exposure to the various methods of measuring food consumption and nutritional
 status.

 3. an understanding of how these various measures can give an overall picture of the food
 situation in a country.


 TOPIC S ACTIVITIES

 1. Nutritional Requirements and Reference 1. Calculation of Energy Requirements
 Nutrient Intakes

 2. Measuring Food Consumption 2. Typical Patterns of Food Consumption

 3. Direct Measures of Nutritional Status

 4. The Aggregate Household Food Security
 Index

 5. Assessing the Food Situation at Different 3. Measuring Food Availability
 Levels of Aggregation



 REFERENCES

 FA).\ World Food Summit papers on relevant issues (please see References)
 FA.\. Committee on Food Security, Assessment of the Current World Food Situation and
 Recent Policy Developments, 1994.
 \.l'ace\ & i .R.Payne. Agricultural Development and Nutrition, Part One, Limits to
 Nieasurement, I lutchinson, 1985.
 R.S. (iihlonI. Principles of Nutritional Assessment, Oxford University Press, 1990
 ('1)( \\ I 10. I pininlo version 6.02, a software package with a module, EpiNut, to calculate
 ,mnthrtopmetric indicators for children, 1996.