LEAST COST NUTRITIONALLY ADEQUATE DIET FOR AVERAGE EGYPTIAN FAMILY UNDER PREVAILING ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Abstract

The study's mam objective was to suggest LCAD models formulations for the poorest strata of the population such as to improve their nutritional status without any additional cost burden at least, if impossible to guarantee lower than actual costs as well. Methodology based on identification of the poorest income strata, derived from the latest available household budget survey (1990/1991), to investigating their consumption patterns and hence their areas of deficiencies, as well as their health requirements. Beside requirements satisfaction for most nutrients, major and minor, other constraints were maintained, such as upper limits for diet total weight and calories intakes. The nutrients involved were calories, total protein, animal protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin "A", thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and ascorbic acid. Least costs diets satisfactory of requirements for all said nutrients were seeked through an iterative method in avoidance of trivial solutions which may emerge by linear programming due to large numbers of constraints, such as unreasonably small quantities of numerous food items in the models. First, the study revealed the major points of weakness for the average national diet in comparison with other countries. it was shown that despite recent improvement in both caloric and protein intakes the diet remains unbalanced. That is since plant origin foods supply over 90% and 80% of caloric and protein intakes, respectively while the corresponding estimates for developed countries drop to slightly over one third.