THE RELATIVE CONSTANCY OF PROTEIN AS PERCENT OF CALORIES IN WORLD FOOD SUPPLIES

To test the relative constancy of protein as a percentage of calories in world food supplies, the percentages of calories from these nutrients were calculated from the data available in the FAO Food Balance Sheets from 1961 through 1994 for 154 countries. The percentage of calories from fat varied from 7% to 44% over the past 30 years, whereas that from carbohydrate ranged from 46% to 82%. However, the caloric content of protein varied from only 7% to 16%.