A 7 d total dietary record was kept in 1970 by schoolchildren from one-parent families and by a control sample matched for sex and age who were living with both parents. The children were aged, on average, 14.5 years and were from schools in Newcastle upon Tyne. Medical assessments were made within 2 weeks of the dietary study. 2. Mean daily intakes of food energy and most nutrients were significantly larger (P < 0.05) in the fatherless boys compared with the controls. There was no such difference between the corresponding two groups of girls. The quality of the diet, assessed as nutrients/MJ was similar in all four groups. 3. There was no evidence of undernutrition; a few children were considered to be obese. The findings in a period of relative affluence may serve as a baseline for subsequent dietary studies.
