Long-Term Survey of Food Consumption on Pingelap Island, Pohnpei State, the Federated States of Micronesia

Abstract

A 4-year food consumption survey of one household at every meal was conducted on Pingelap Island, Pohnpei State, the Federated States of Micronesia, to understand food behavior over a long period. The 4-year average of the frequency of consumption of starchy staples was highest for imported rice (47.4%), followed by banana (37.4%), breadfruit (19.9%), mweiang (Cyrtosperma merkusii)(16.3%), and imported wheat flour (12.5%). The monthly variation in the consumption of rice and wheat flour was much greater than the annual variation. The household ate banana in all months during the survey period and banana was the most frequently consumed local starchy staple on Pingelap Island, suggesting that banana supports subsistence on this small, remote island throughout the year. The additional value of the 4-year average frequency was 60.7% for imported starchy staples and 73.6% for local starchy crops, indicating that the household still relied on local starchy crops for more than half of the total starchy staples consumed by frequency. Among marine resources, the 4-year average was highest for fresh fish (69.9%), followed by other marine resources (1.3%), imported canned fish (1.0%), and dried fish (0.5%). Regarding meat, the 4-year average was highest for local fresh meat (2.3%), followed by imported canned meat (0.7%), and imported fresh meat (0.1%). These results suggest that the main source of protein on the island is fresh fish caught locally. The frequency of the consumption of imported instant noodles was low. The dietary pattern on Pingelap Island was still traditional compared with Pohnpei Island, probably due to the very limited access from Pingelap Island to the main island of Pohnpei where imported food products are abundant.