Do time trends in food supply levels of macronutrients reflect survey estimates of macronutrient intake?

Abstract

IntrodwtonThe monitoring of the US population's dietary intake and nutritional status received considerable attention in the last decade.1,2 In the next decade, nutrition monitoring will receive increased attention with the passage of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990.3 The estimation of trends in food and nutrient intake by US population groups, although not a measure of change in US population nutritional status per se, will continue to be a priority for several reasons. These data can be used to help (1) form national nutrition objectives and monitor progress toward their achievement-6; (2) form national nutrition policies and interventions; and (3) form and, to a lesser extent, test hypotheses about the relationship between diet and certain chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease7-10 and cancer.11-'5 Two types of data may be used to estimate trends over time in food and nutrient intake by the US population: (1) annual estimates of foods and nutrients available for consumption as measured from US food supply data (henceforth referred to as food supply estimates) and (2) periodic estimates offood and nutrient intake by individuals as measured from national food consumption surveys of individuals (henceforth referred to as survey intake estimates). Historically, the more frequent per capita food supply estimates, which are available from the turn of the century, have most often been used for this purpose.7-16The main objective ofthis studywas to examine whether trends in macronutrient levels of the food supply can be used as a

Food supply versus household survey data: Nutrient consumption trends for Spain, 1958–1988

“…It was assumed that, although food balance sheets would probably overestimate macronutrient intake from household surveys, a more direct method of nutritional assessment, the trends of both types of data would be coincident. However, our results, which are partially consistent with those from Stephen [4] and Crane [5], do not support this hypothesis when macronutrient intake is expressed in absolute amounts. Discrepancy in the trends measured by household surveys and food balance sheet data is surely a consequence of different data collection methodologies [1], of the lower level of estimated food supply in the first years of the series, and of the Spanish economic upsurge.…”

“…These methods have served as invaluable tools in the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of nutrition policies. Some studies have reported adequate correlation between food balance sheets and survey estimates [2], while others have revealed clear inconsistencies [3][4][5]. Although methodological differences in data collection have been cited, comparisons of food consumption data from different sources and settings might be helpful to identify the direction and causes of such discrepancies.…”

Food consumption, energy and nutrient intake and nutritional status in rural Bangladesh: changes from 1981–1982 to 1995–96

“…These are sometimes carried out 5 or 10 y apart or done continuously (Pietinen & Ovaskainen, 1994;Briefel, 1994;Turrini et al, 2001;Kim et al, 2000). Studies in developed countries have also either used national food supply data alone to monitor national developments (Zilidis, 1993;Zizza, 1997) or compared national food supply data and dietary surveys (Crane et al, 1992;Rodriguez-Artalejo et al, 1996;Dobson et al, 1997;Harnack et al, 2000). It is recognized that surveys and food supply data provide partially different and sometimes inconsistent information.…”

Dietary trends: estimates from food supply and survey data

“…In Australia, for example, national dietary surveys have been conducted in 1944, 1983 and 1995 but the sampling frames and the methods used were different for each survey (Lester, 1994;Commonwealth Department of Health, 1986). Estimates of consumption have been shown to differ when different measurements methods are used and the extent of the difference varies according to the types of foods and nutrients (Crane et al, 1992). This limits the use of national survey data for measuring changes in dietary habits over time in Australia.…”