Nutrition of Nigerian Peasant Farmers, with Special Reference to the Effects of Vitamin A and Riboflavin Deficiency

Abstract

It is unnecessary to stress the difficulties which arise in the interpretation of data obtained from nutrition surveys. These have been considered by Sinclair (1944), Dann & Darby (1945) and others. As knowledge increases, the standards by which the adequacy of diets is judged have to be altered; this is well exemplified by the frequent revision of the daily allowances recommended by the National Research Council of the United States of America. Further, there is no valid reason to expect that the requirements for optimum health and performance of one individual or one race will be the same as those of other individuals or races living under different environmental conditions. Kark, Aiton, Pease, Bean, Henderson, Johnson & Richardson (1947) have shown that Gurkha soldiers, on a diet considerably ' inferior ', by British and American standards, to that eaten by Canadian and American soldiers, were capable of physical performances significantly better than those of the white troops.