Variation in the composition of Gambian foods: The importance of water in relation to energy and protein content

Protein and energy contents of numerous samples of Gambian foods have been determined in order to examine variations in composition.

There was a highly significant negative correlation between the energy and water content of the foods, which enables the energy content to be predicted accurately by measurements of the water content alone.

Protein content of foods, as estimated from measurement of total nitrogen, was more variable than the energy; nevertheless, for most foods there was a significant negative correlation between protein and water content. Consideration of cereal and groundnut foods separately enabled the protein content to be predicted from the water content with almost as great an accuracy as for the energy.

The accuracy of large‐scale studies designed to estimate the protein and energy intake of individuals would be increased considerably by adopting the approach described. It would be necessary, of course, to determine in each case the regression equations relevant to the range of foods included in the study.

Key words:

• Gambian foods
• available energy density
• protein content
• water content