Assessment of Calorie Intake and Micronutrient Consumption in Rural North-Central Nigeria

Due to rising food insecurity and prices, rural households in Nigeria are increasingly resorting to adverse coping mechanisms, such as replacing nutritious diets with larger quantities of less-nutritious and energy-dense foods. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between calorie status and micronutrient foods intake of rural households in North-Central Nigeria. By employing a threestage random sampling procedure, a total of 494 households were selected via a well-structured questionnaire. The finding showed that 42.7% of the households were calorie sufficient, while 57.3% of them were calorie deficient. Furthermore, households with sufficient calorie intake had a higher average micronutrient food intake score (52.12), compared to those with calorie deficiencies (38.38). The logistic regression analysis revealed that an increase in total vegetable intake, total protein intake, and dairy products intake signals a higher likelihood of household being calorie sufficient while increase in seafood and plant protein intake is linked to lower odds of the household being calorie sufficient (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that micronutrient food intake should be a central component of household food security policy in rural areas. Consequently, food security initiatives in these regions must include programs that are focused on dietary adequacy to promote productive and healthy living.