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The role of street foods in the dietary pattern of two low-income groups in Nairobi

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 55, pages 562–570 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the frequency of street food consumption of people living in low-income settlements in Nairobi and the role of street foods in their daily diet and to reveal why people consume street foods rather than home-prepared foods.

Setting, subjects and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was done with 1011 households and in-depth interviews with a subsample of 73 households in two selected areas in Nairobi: Korogocho, a low-income slum area and Dandora, a low–middle-income area.

Results: The frequency of street food consumption was higher in Korogocho than in Dandora (3.6 vs 2.0 days per week; P<0.001). Street food consumption did not differ between different types of households, with the exception of household size. Employment status of the household head and street food consumption were related (P<0.001): consumption frequency of 3.7 days per week when irregularly or unemployed, 2.9 days/week when self-employed and 2.1 days/week when regularly employed. Furthermore, where an adult woman with primarily a domestic role was present, street food consumption was less (2.55 days per week when present vs 2.95 when not present; P<0.05).

Conclusions: Street foods play an important role in the diet of poor households in Nairobi, in particular for breakfast and snacks, because they are cheap and convenient. The frequency of street food consumption is determined by a combination of at least four factors: level of household income; regularity of income; household size; and time available to prepare meals.

Sponsorship: The project is financed by the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO), filenumber WV 96-153.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2001) 55, 562–570

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Professor JK Imungi, at the time chairman of the Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, University of Nairobi, and Dr Wambui Kogi-Makau, head of the Unit of Applied Nutrition, University of Nairobi, for their support. We also want to express our gratitude to Provide International, Gospel Tabernacle Church and all the fleldworkers for their assistance, as well as the populations of Korogocho and Dandora for their participation in the study.

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Author notes

  1. H van ’t Riet: Guarantor: Hilda van ’t Riet

  2. H van ’t Riet, AP den Hartog, AM Mwangi, RKN Mwadime, DWJ Foeken and WA van Staveren: Contributors: Van ’t Riet was the principal investigator. Den Hartog initiated the study and secured funding. Van ’t Riet, Mwangi, Den Hartog and Van Staveren designed the study. Mwadime and Foeken have assisted in locating the study areas. Mwangi and Mwadime assisted in designing the questionnaires. Van ’t Riet analysed the data. All investigators contributed to the writing of the paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    H van ’t Riet, AP den Hartog & WA van Staveren

  2. Unit of Applied Nutrition, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

    AM Mwangi & RKN Mwadime

  3. African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands

    DWJ Foeken

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  1. H van ’t Riet
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  2. AP den Hartog
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  5. DWJ Foeken
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  6. WA van Staveren
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Correspondence to H van ’t Riet.

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van ’t Riet, H., den Hartog, A., Mwangi, A. et al. The role of street foods in the dietary pattern of two low-income groups in Nairobi. Eur J Clin Nutr 55, 562–570 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601183

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