Food Patterns Equivalents Database for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic

Authors: Waller, Anna; Friday, James; MORTON, SUZANNE - American Society For Nutrition; Myrowitz, Rebecca; Moshfegh, Alanna

Submitted to: Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/2023
Publication Date: 7/19/2023
Citation: Waller, A.W., Friday, J.E., Morton, S., Myrowitz, R., Moshfegh, A.J. 2023. Food Patterns Equivalents Database for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic. 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/fped-databases/.

Interpretive Summary: The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide recommendations on how much to eat from each of the USDA Food Patterns (FP) components such as Fruit, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy, Protein Foods, and Oils, and place limits on the consumption of Alcoholic Drinks, Added Sugars, and Solid Fats. The Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) 2017-2018, the most recent FPED release, converted the foods reported in the What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (WWEIA, NHANES) 2017-2018 to appropriate FP components. The NHANES program suspended field operations in March 2020 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, resulting in data that was not nationally representative. Thus, the 2019-March 2020 data were combined with data from the NHANES 2017-2018 cycle to form a nationally representative sample of NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic. To reduce disclosure risk, respondents and their intake records are not identified by these two survey cycles in the NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic data. The FPED for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic was therefore developed as an extension of FPED 2017-2018 to assess dietary intakes for the unique WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic data set. Foods not in WWEIA, NHANES 2017-2018 were characterized by FP equivalents according to FPED 2017-2018 methodology. The Food Patterns Equivalents Database 2017-2018: Methodology and User Guide Amended for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic describes the FPED 2017-2018 developmental process, and highlights amendments to the 2017-2018 Methodology and User Guide to be applied to the WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic data. The Food Patterns Equivalents Database for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic Documentation Addendum to FPED 2017-2018 Methodology and User Guide details the methodology of characterizing foods not in WWEIA, NHANES 2017-2018. In addition to the FPED for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic, the 37 FP components reported consumed by each respondent on days 1 and 2 and a SAS codes file for the estimation of mean intakes of FP components on day 1 by demographic group are included. The FPED for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic has potential to link nutrition, agriculture, and food economics and is useful to researchers, nutritionists, nutrition educators, economists, food growers, food producers, and policymakers, particularly to evaluate how well Americans adhere to the DGA recommendations.

Technical Abstract: The USDA’s Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) converts the foods in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) used for What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (WWEIA, NHANES) to the 37 USDA Food Patterns (FP) components. In FPED, Fruit, Vegetables, and Dairy are expressed in cup equivalents; Grains and Protein Foods in ounce equivalents; Alcoholic Drinks in number of drinks; Added Sugars in teaspoon equivalents; and Oils and Solid Fats in gram equivalents. The most recent FPED released was FPED 2017-2018. Because the NHANES program suspended field operations in March 2020 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the WWEIA, NHANES data were combined with data from the NHANES 2017-2018 cycle to form a nationally representative sample of NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic. In order to convert foods in WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic to FP components, an FPED for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 was developed as an addendum to FPED 2017-2018. This approach required linking foods not in FNDDS 2017-2018 to one or more foods in FPED 2017-2018. Thus, all food pattern data and methodology for computing FP components for 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic are based on FPED 2017-2018. The FPED for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic release includes the following files: (1) Food Patterns Equivalents Database 2017-2018: Methodology and User Guide Amended for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic describing the guiding principles and process of FPED 2017-2018 development with algorithms and computational examples, amended as appropriate; (2) Food Patterns Equivalents Database for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic Documentation Addendum to FPED 2017-2018 Methodology and User Guide describing the methodology and process of linking foods not in FNDDS 2017-2018; (3) FPED for Use with WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic containing 37 FP components per 100 grams of each of the foods used in WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic, in Microsoft Excel and SAS (2 data files); and (4) the amount of each of the 37 FP components reported consumed by each survey respondent on days 1 and 2 of WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic (4 SAS data sets).