American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 21, 875-881, Copyright © 1968 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Health Survey of Nepal

Diet and Nutritional Status of the Nepalese People

¹ From the School of Public Health, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii

A dietary survey of 18 villages and 1 urban site was carried out in Nepal using the 24-hr recall method to obtain household food consumption. The diet of the Nepalese people is clearly superior to many other areas of the Far East but is generally lacking in sufficient high quality protein, calcium, vitamin A, riboflavin, and ascorbic acid. Iron, thiamine, and niacin intakes are adequate to high due to consumption of large amounts of unmilled rice. Although the clinical nutritional status of the population is generally satisfactory, the high mortality rate among children under five suggests that marginal malnutrition exists, which, coupled with constant exposure to a contaminated environment, is a major factor implicated in child deaths in Nepal.