Effect of income on food consumption in Lima : some preliminary findings of the Peruvian national food consumption survey (ENCA)

But many of them have population groups too poor to provide themselves with adequate diets throughout the year. Income is the foremost determinant of a family"s quantitative and qualitative levels of food consumption. The principal data sources commonly used to quantify food consumption patterns are household budget inquiries and consumption surveys. This paper deals with the Peruvian National Food Consumption Survey (ENCA), its methodology and analysis. Based on preliminary data that became successively available during the summer months of 1973, an attempt is made, with reference to the Peruvian capital, to sort out the variability in food consumption among various social groups defined on the basis of income. A brief overview of income distribution patterns in the Lima metropolitan area is presented at the outset as a background to the work of the survey analysis.