Food Habits of Kenya

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Children

Diet and nutrient intake of Kenya's children of the past

This article provides interesting insights into the food patterns and nutrient intakes of East African children before 1970 and highlights the major influencing factors which brought about the changes.

Reference: Oltersdorf, U. (1971). Comparison of Nutrient Intakes in East Africa. Proceedings of a conference held in Blantyre, Malawi, International Biological Programme, 7 Marylebone road, London, NW1, England.

PDF: Comparison of nutrient intakes in East Africa

WHAT DID CHILDREN IN KENYA EAT?

Tribe	Staple food	Supplemented food	Infant & children food
Luo*	Mtama (Sorghum bicolora) Wimbi (Swahili) red millet	Sweet potatoes Beans Green maize
Kikuyu**	"Irio" means food 1. A porridge made of maize, legumes and plantains 2. A gruel "ucuru" made from millet flour and water (beverage) 1. and 2. werw eaten by both men and women	Corn cobs Yams Sweet potatoes Plantains Taro Legumes	Children dishes: muthura, mtama (grain)eaten unground and boiled and kiroiga, mtama meal cooked with magadi soda; Muhia, the most widely grown sorghum used unground, boiled and mixed with green leaves, this dish was called muthura and it was only eaten by children and women;
Giriama*** Kikuyu coast tribes	"Sima", porridge made out of maize, brown rice (own grown), plantain; Legumes (kunde, podzo)	Meat (stewed beef or goat) Fish or shark (boiled) Prawns or chicken Coconut (ground, soaked in water wrung out, called tui) Bananas (boiled, raw, fried in ghee) Sweet potatoes (roasted in ashes or boiled) Unusual items: Cassava (boiled, roasted), Ground nuts, Chashew nuts
Kikuyu**** Kiuambu district	Introduced staple foods: European potato: The porridge "irio" was more often made of mashed european potatoes which added a lot of bulk to the diet; Wheat for chapatties, European bread	Introduced beverages: Tea Coffee Local beverages Beer made out of sugar cane "Njohi" or honey beer;	Banana pulp was given from 3 years on; Unripe pulp was baked then chewed by the mother until soft; Infant was fed from mother's lips; originated from shortage of milk: infants on that diet suffered by gastro-enteritis and hardly put weight on; Sugar cane was chewed by children;
Samburu*****	Milk (especially for the for males) Meat	Vegetables played a minor role Maize -meal rarely eaten by males above eight years of age Blood was of minor role, only used during dry seasons; Roots and tubers which also were of medicinal value;	Brest feeding after birth, supplementary feeding with milk started a week later; At about 18 month meat was introduced; Afterwards meat and milk formed natural diet;

References:
*Callanan, J. (1926). "Notes on the foodstuffs of the Luo tribes." Kenyan Medical Journal 3: 58-60.
**Orr, J. and J. Gilks (1931). "The physique and health of two African tribes." Medical Research Council Special Report Series No. 155.
***Allen, K. W. (1955). "The monotonous diet of the African." E.A. Med J 32: 95.
****Farnworth Anderson, T. (1937). "Kikuyu diet." The East African Medical Journal 14: 120-131.
*****Shaper, A. and P. Spencer (1961). "Physical activity and dietary patterns in the Samburu of northern Kenya." Tropical and geographical medicine 13: 237-281.

What did Masai schoolboys ate during 1945?

The following notes were recorded as a result of investigations into health of Masai schoolboys at Monduli School during 1945.

The diet at school was as follows:

• Maize meal, ¾ lb. daily
  
• Meat, ½ lb. daily
  
• Sugar, ½ oz. daily
  
• Salt, ½ oz. daily
  
• Rice, ¼ lb. 3 times a week
  
• Beans, ¼ lb. 4time a week
  
• Ghee, 1 oz. Daily
  
• Milk, about one bottle per day

The boys became quickly accustomed to the school diet which differed very much from their traditional Masai food which had milk as the staple food.

Read more about Masai children their customs, anthropometrics and diseases:

PDF: The effect of a change of diet on Masai schoolboys_1948

How was the nutrition status of African children during the 1940s?

The following article gives you an insight into the nutrition of African children. The notes were based on:

• A study of the effects of milk-feeding of African school children in Nairobi over the period of one year
  
• Observations on the state of nutrition of children in South Nyeri Native reserves
  
• A series of surveys which estimated the general health of the Wadigo on the coast
  
• A survey which assessed the general health of the Masai
  
• Observations on the state of nutrition of the in-patients at the Native Hospital, Nairobi
  

PDF: Nutrition in Kenya: Notes on the state of nutrition on African children

Infant feeding in Kenya

The following WHO report carried out between 1964-1968 in the Central, Eastern Provinces andNyanza provides the following data and information on infant feeding:

• Time period of breastfeeding
  
• Time when infant foods were introduced
  
• Infant's first foods
• The major infant foods during the first three months of mixed feeding
• Feeding methods
  
• Period of brest feeding
  

PDF: Nutrition survey and campaign against malnutrition in Kenya 1964 to 1968

 

Created by Verena Raschke 2005 / Contact