Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Surveys Research Group » Docs » FPED overview

Overview of Food Patterns Equivalents Database
  • What is
    FPED?
  • What does the
    FPED release include?
  • Applications
    of FPED
  • Fact sheets
  • Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) converts the foods and beverages in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies to the 37 USDA Food Patterns components. The FPED was formerly known as the MyPyramid Equivalents Database.
  • The FPED serves as a unique research tool to evaluate food and beverage intakes of Americans with respect to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations.
  • The Food Patterns are measured as cup equivalents of Fruit, Vegetables, and Dairy; ounce equivalents of Grains and Protein Foods; teaspoon equivalents of Added Sugars; gram equivalents of Solid Fats and Oils; and the number of Alcoholic Drinks.
  • In addition to the SAS® datasets, the FPED release includes: (1) the Food Patterns Equivalents Ingredient Database (FPID) that includes the 37 USDA Food Patterns components per 100 grams of each unique ingredient used in the FNDDS; and (2) listings of gram weights for one cup equivalent of fruit, vegetables, dairy, and legumes used in the FPED release (see Methodology and User Guide, Appendices 8-11).