U.S. Dietary Research: Patterns, Trends, and Determinants in the United States
A number of different projects fit under this effort. Food consumption surveys have been collected in the US on a national level in 1965, 1977–78, 1985, 1986, 1987–88, 1989–91, 1994–96, and 1998 by the US Department of Agriculture. The Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG) is responsible for the collection of these data, which represent the daily food and nutrient intake of people in the US. From 1999 onward these surveys, called NHANES, were taken over by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Drs. Barry Popkin, Pam Haines, and Anna Maria Siega-Riz have developed ways to link each food consumed in each survey for the purpose of using a common food composition table for nutrient analysis. This information is used to identify trends in foods, nutrients, and eating patterns among various subpopulations of interest. A range of measures including overall dietary quality indices, detailed health-related food grouping schemes, and others have been created for use with these surveys. Food and nutrient intake data are coupled with economic and demographic data to provide the basis for examining such questions as how does maternal work force participation affect child eating behaviors and how does eating away from home affect overall nutrient intakes.
Most of these studies have focused on dietary behavior measured in terms of foods consumed, overall dietary quality, the location of eating events, and the meal patterns. The group has developed a number of important initiatives including the development of the first US Diet Quality Index (since revised), methods to study food behavior by creating a systematic UNC-CH food grouping system, and a number of new methodological approaches. Many of the studies focus on trends in eating behavior and others are factors responsible for dietary changes.
Dr. Barry Popkin has continued to undertake research over the past decade on this area. His explorations have included dietary trends, beverage intake patterns, the role of water in diet and its effects on total energy intake. Other work focused on diets at home and away from home and a range of related issues.
