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This cross-sectional study therefore aimed to explore food consumption and nutrient intakes comparing urban and rural and nutritional status groups, providing novel data for The Gambia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Adolescent girls aged 10\u201319 years from urban or rural communities took part in the study. Participants completed a questionnaire collecting socio-demographic information. Anthropometric measurements were obtained to derive body mass index-for-age and height-for-age z-scores, and nutritional status (stunting, underweight, and overweight). Dietary intake was assessed using two interviewer-administered multiple-pass 24-hour dietary recalls.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 208 adolescent girls participated in the study. The diets of those in urban areas featured frequent consumption of processed cereals, sandwiches, and meat-based stews. By contrast, traditional porridges and fish-based stews predominated in the diets of rural participants. Overall, diets in both groups were energy-dense, but low in fruit and vegetables (180\u00a0g per day, on average), fibre and iron. Excess fat and carbohydrate as a percentage of energy intake featured in the diets of both groups. Despite greater intakes among the urban compared to rural adolescents for vitamin A (222 vs. 164\u00a0\u00b5g per day), vitamin D (2 vs. 1\u00a0\u00b5g) and calcium (390 vs. 289\u00a0mg), deficiencies were evident for both urban and rural participants. Higher intakes of free sugars among urban adolescents, inadequate vitamin C intakes among rural adolescents, and (in the context of deficient intakes overall) lower calcium intakes among adolescent girls who were stunted compared to those who were not (325 vs. 367\u00a0mg;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.018), were also notable disparities. White rice provided nearly half of total energy intake, and nearly 40% of daily protein across settings. The predominance of sugar-sweetened beverages, and the importance of traditional sweetened drinks as a source of vitamin C, is also a notable concern.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study describes similarities and differences in urban and rural diets in The Gambia, with nutritional inequalities evident in both settings. The findings are context-specific and descriptive, but are likely to resonate with other West African contexts and underscore the need for targeted intervention strategies to address malnutrition among adolescent girls.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40795-026-01430-0","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T03:11:46Z","timestamp":1784257906000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Food consumption and nutrient intake among adolescent girls in The Gambia: a cross-sectional study with urban-rural and nutritional status comparisons"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Haddy","family":"Jallow-Badjan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tanefa A","family":"Apekey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria J","family":"Maynard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"1430_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70038","DOI":"10.1111\/mcn.70038","volume":"21","author":"C \u00c1lvarez S\u00e1nchez","year":"2025","unstructured":"\u00c1lvarez S\u00e1nchez C, Tyler V. 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