Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Surveys Research Group » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399286
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: USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS), 2019-2020 Documentation

Author
item Rhodes, Donna
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: 10/17/2022
Publication Date: 10/21/2022
Citation: Rhodes, D.G., Morton, S., Moshfegh, A.J. 2022. USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS), 2019-2020 Documentation. Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group. Available: https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-bhnrc/beltsville-human-nutrition-research-center/food-surveys-research-group/docs/fndds-download-databases/.

Interpretive Summary: The USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) is an extensive database of foods and beverages commonly consumed in the U.S. It is used to convert foods/beverages consumed in What We Eat in America (WWIEA), the dietary intake component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), into gram amounts and to determine their nutrient values. FNDDS 2019-2020 contains information for more than 5,600 foods and beverages. Values for food energy and 64 other nutrients are included for each item, as well as weights for common portions of the item. Most of these values are derived from the USDA FoodData Central. The U.S. food supply is constantly changing, with thousands of new products and packages introduced each year. FNDDS is regularly updated to reflect the current state of the U.S. food market and to support processing of WWEIA. New versions of FNDDS are released every two years to accompany the release of the NHANES dietary intake data. FNDDS 2019-2020 was used to determine the nutrient values of dietary intakes from WWEIA, NHANES 2019-March 2020 Prepandemic. Extensive documentation, valuable to both new and previous users, accompanies the database. The database is available in three formats: as a Microsoft Access® database, as a SAS® dataset, and as Excel® files. The database can be downloaded on-line at www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrs/fsrg, thus putting a valuable dietary research tool at the fingertips of the users. The database may be used in other dietary studies. The availability and accessibility of the FNDDS is beneficial to public policy administrators and other government groups, to dietitians and the food industry, as well as to scientists conducting research that involves collecting dietary intake data.

Technical Abstract: The USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 2019-2020 is used to convert foods/beverages reported in national food surveys into gram amounts and to determine their nutrient values. This version of the FNDDS was used to determine the nutrient values of dietary intakes from What We Eat in America (WWIEA), the dietary intake component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2019-March 2020 Prepandemic. The database includes descriptions for more than 5,600 foods/beverages; more than 39,000 weights for common portions; and food energy and 64 nutrient/food components for each of these foods/beverages. Most of the nutrient values for FNDDS foods/beverages are derived from values in the USDA FoodData Central. FNDDS 2019-2020 is available for downloading from the FSRG website in three formats: as a Microsoft Access® database, as a SAS® dataset, and as Excel® files. The website www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg includes detailed downloading instructions and extensive documentation describing the database.