THE DIETARY-INTAKE OF HOMELESS MALES SLEEPING ROUGH IN CENTRAL LONDON

Data concerning the food and beverage intake (including alcohol) of 79 males, aged 19-50 years, sleeping rough in Central London, who did no t appear to be under the influence of drink, drugs or suffering from m ental illness were collected by prompted 24-h recall and food-frequenc y questionnaire (FFQ). The source of food was noted and the subjects w ere asked about food availability and food needs. The group had intake s significantly lower than Dietary Reference Values (DRV) for the UK f or energy, carbohydrate, non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), folate, zin c and magnesium. Significantly higher values were seen for protein, fa t, vitamin B12, calcium and iron. Alcohol intake was higher than that assumed to approximate current intakes of the UK population. Mean macr onutrient intakes for the group were similar to means for British adul t men (OPCS, 1990), only protein and NSP were significantly lower. The FFQ showed very low consumption/week of fruit, vegetables, salad, fru it juice and wholewheat/brown products. Organized charities provided t he major source of food energy for the group as a whole. Self-supplied sources provided the major source of total energy. It is suggested th at the group may benefit from an increase in dietary fibre and energy, with an increase in the proportion of energy supplied by carbohydrate and a reduction in energy from fat and alcohol. A varied supply of fo od and hot meals during weekends as well as during the week may benefi t the group both aesthetically and nutritionally, it may be advisable to increase the supply of wholemeal/brown bread, fruits, vegetables an d salad foods without decreasing the energy content of the food availa ble.