Table 1.
Method | Description and Examples | Demographic Information |
---|---|---|
Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) | Relates dietary intake patterns to disease development over time and are designed to yield approximate intakes of broad food categories. Used commonly in prospective cohort studies. | |
An example includes the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and the Brigham and Women’s Semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire [10] used in the Health Professional Follow-up Study and Nurses’ Health Study I and II cohorts [17]. | At cohort initiation, the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study included n = 37,083 men aged 40 to 75 years, the Nurses’ Health Study I included n = 79,570 women aged 30 to 55 years, and the Nurses’ Health Study II included n = 87,504 women aged 25 to 42 years all with at least 20 years of follow-up data [17]. | |
Another example includes the National Cancer Institute Diet History Questionnaire II [11] used in the National Institute of Health American Association of Retired Persons (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study cohort [3]. | At cohort initiation, the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study included n = 536,969 men and women respondents aged 50 to 71 years from six U.S. states and two metropolitan areas with at least 16 years of follow-up data [3]. | |
Food Disappearance Data | Estimates the amount of food in the food supply chain from production to retail outlets available for purchase; used to infer consumption. | |
An example includes the United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) [9] which calculates summary estimates of per capita food and nutrient availability at the primary, retail and consumer levels based on total U.S. population 1. | Food availability estimates are developed by utilizing U.S. commodity market information to estimate the national food supply available to the population. The USDA-ERS uses sampling and statistical methods to calculate estimates. | |
Dietary Recalls | Measures participants’ recollection of food/beverage types and amounts consumed during the previous day; used to infer eating patterns. | |
An example includes the 2013–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Food Pattern Equivalency Database (NHANES, FPED) [12] which categorizes and quantifies equivalency (ounces per day 2) of dietary recall information from the NHANES into intake of broad food categories. | The 2013–2014 NHANES, FPED database included n = 9813 men and women in the U.S. aged 2 to 80 years. Dietary data were collected via two 24-h dietary recalls separated by at least 10 days. Interviews were conducted in-person or by phone using an automated multiple pass method and then statistically analyzed. |
1 Per capita availability reflects supply at the primary, retail and consumer levels. Loss at the consumer level is accounted for through adjustment and assumptions; more information about adjusting for loss is available at [9] 2 In FFQ, 1 ounce ≈ 28 g.