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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Surveys Research Group » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #396736
Research Project: The Role of Dietary and Lifestyle Factors on Nutrition and Related Health Status Using Large-Scale Survey Data

Location: Food Surveys Research Group

Title: What We Eat In America Food Categories, 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic

Author
item Rhodes, Donna
item Friday, James
item MORTON, SUZANNE - American Society For Nutrition
item Moshfegh, Alanna

Submitted to: Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2022
Publication Date: 8/3/2022
Citation: Rhodes, D.G., Friday, J.E., Morton, S., Moshfegh, A.J. 2022. What We Eat In America Food Categories, 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic. Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group. Available: https://www.ars.usda.gov/Sercices/docs.htm?docid=23429.

Interpretive Summary: Detailed analysis of food and beverage consumption of the U.S. population is limited, yet critical for developing food guidance programs and for dietary surveillance. The What We Eat In America (WWEIA) Food Categories, developed by the Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG), provides an application for analyzing foods and beverages as consumed in the American diet. The 2017-March 2020 files represent a unique public-use data release from NHANES. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic required suspension of data collection in March 2020. As a result, the partially completed NHANES 2019-2020 cycle was not nationally representative. Therefore, the 2019-March 2020 data were combined with the data from the 2017-2018 cycle to create the nationally representative 2017-March 2020 prepandemic data files. All food and beverage items reported in this data release are placed into 169 unique and mutually exclusive food categories. Designed to be flexible, the categories can be combined as necessary to address specific research questions. This version of the WWEIA Food Categories for use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 prepandemic is available on the FSRG website www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg. Potential uses of the WWEIA Food Categories include development of food guidance programs and educational materials, monitoring food intake, and identifying food trends.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of the What We Eat In America (WWEIA) Food Categories is to provide an application for analyzing foods and beverages as consumed in the American diet. The 2017-March 2020 files represent a unique public-use data release from NHANES. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic required suspension of data collection in March 2020. As a result, the partially completed NHANES 2019-2020 cycle was not nationally representative. Therefore, the 2019-March 2020 data were combined with the data from the 2017-2018 cycle to create the nationally representative 2017-March 2020 prepandemic data files. Each food code in this release is placed into one of the 169 mutually exclusive food categories. USDA’s Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 2017-2018 and FNDDS 2019-2020 were used to assign the WWEIA Food Category 4-digit number and description. FNDDS 2019-2020 includes extensive updates and was the basis for most assignments. The focus of this categorization system is on grouping foods and beverages together that have similar usage and nutrient content. The categories contain discrete food codes; therefore, mixed dishes are not disaggregated. The WWEIA Food Categories for use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 prepandemic are available on the FSRG website: www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg.