Dietary intakes of starch and non-starch polysaccharides in a west African village.

Dietary intakes of starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) have been estimated for a rural West African community. These people eat directly from shared bowls of cooked food, and so measurement of any individual's food intake is not possible. Recently developed methodology for estimating food intake under these circumstances and the analysis of samples for dietary polysaccharides are combined to yield estimates of intakes of about 375 g starch and 25 g NSP/d for adult males, with lower intakes for women and children, related to their smaller body weights. These intakes are not direct measurements but are extremely plausible when compared with values obtained for other societies where the complication of the shared food bowl does not impinge upon the measurements.