Food variety—a good indicator of nutritional adequacy of the diet? A case study from an urban area in Mali, West Africa

Objective: This study assesses whether a simple count of food items and food groups can predict the nutritional adequacy of the diet in an economically poor country. Design: A three-day weighed record of children. Setting: Koutiala town, in Southeastern Mali. Subjects: Seventy-seven children, 13–58 months of age. One child was excluded owing to an extraordinarily low food variety. Intervention: The study was conducted in April–August 1995. Data...