NHANES Dietary Web Tutorial: Dietary Data Overview: History of Dietary Data Collection

Task 1: Key Concepts About the History of Dietary Data Collection

Federal agencies have collected food consumption data for decades. These data are used for a variety of policy making and research purposes in the areas of nutrition monitoring and surveillance, dietary guidance, food fortification, environmental exposure assessment, and nutrition assistance and education program planning and evaluation.

USDA Data Collection

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has collected national food consumption data for more than 70 years. Initially designed to help people achieve economical and nutritious diets, USDA's food consumption surveys gradually broadened in scope and purpose. Nationwide surveys were conducted in 1965-1966, 1977-1978, 1985-1986, 1987-1988, 1989-1991, 1994-1996, and 1998.

The most recent surveys, called the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) and conducted in 1989-1991, 1994-1996, and 1998, were combined with USDA's Diet and Health Knowledge Survey (DHKS), a telephone survey designed to measure knowledge and attitudes about diet and health. Table 1 provides an historical overview of USDA's nationwide food surveys.

Table 1. Overview of USDA Nationwide Food Surveys, 1936–1998^1,2(click to view)

Survey	Population	Sample	Type of data collected	Dietary method
1935–1936 Consumer Purchases Study	Farm, village, and city households in five geographic regions	Husband and wife families	Household food use	7-d list-recall; 7-d food inventory record
1942 Family Spending and Saving in Wartime	Cities, rural nonfarm areas, and farms	Housekeeping families and single persons	Household food use	7-d list-recall
1948 Food Consumption of Urban Families	Urban families nationwide in spring plus surveys in 4 cities	Housekeeping families of 2 or more persons	Household food use	7-d list-recall
1955 Food Consumption of Households	48 states plus a supplement of farm households	National, self-weighting probability sample of housekeeping households	Household food use	7-d list-recall
1965–1966 Household Food Consumption Survey	48 states	Two separate samples (basic and low income); selected household members were asked to provide intake information	Household food use Individual intake	7-d list-recall 24-h dietary recall in spring only
1977–1978 NFCS	48 states	Two separate samples (basic and low income); all household members were asked to provide intake information	Household food use Individual intake	7-d list-recall 3 consecutive days: 24-h dietary recall and 2-d diet record
1985–1986 CSFII	48 states	Two separate samples (basic and low income); women 19–50 y and their children 1–5 y in both y and men 19–50 y in 1985 only	Individual intake	Women and children: 6 nonconsecutive 24-h dietary recalls; d 1 in person and remaining days by telephone. Men: d 1 only
1987–1988 NFCS	48 states	Two separate samples (basic and low income); all household members were asked to provide intake information	Household food use Individual intake	7-d list-recall 3 consecutive days: 24-h dietary recall and 2-d diet record
1989–1991 CSFII	48 states	Two separate samples (basic and low income); all household members were asked to provide intake information	Individual intake	3 consecutive days: 24-h dietary recall and 2-d diet record
1989–1991 DHKS	48 states	Main meal planners/preparers with a completed d 1 intake in CSFII	Dietary knowledge, behavior and attitudes	Telephone follow-up to CSFII
1994–1996 CSFII	50 states	Oversampling of the low income population; only selected household members were asked to provide intake information	Individual intake	Two nonconsecutive 24-h dietary recalls, multiple pass method
1994–1996 DHKS	50 states	Adults 20 y and over with a completed d 1 intake in CSFII	Dietary knowledge, behavior and attitudes	Telephone follow-up to CSFII
1998 CSFII	50 states	Children 0–9 y	Individual intake	Two nonconsecutive 24-h dietary recalls, multiple pass method

¹ Abbreviations: CSFII, Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals; DHKS, Diet and Health Knowledge Survey; NFCS, Nationwide Food Consumption Survey; USDA, United States Department of Agriculture.

Task 1: Key Concepts About the History of Dietary Data Collection

USDA Data Collection

Table 1. Overview of USDA Nationwide Food Surveys, 1936–19981,2 (click to view)

Table 1. Overview of USDA Nationwide Food Surveys, 1936–1998^1,2(click to view)