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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #348171
Research Project: Dietary Guidelines Adherence and Healthy Body Weight Maintenance

Location: Healthy Body Weight Research

Title: Characterizing trends in fruit and vegetable intake in the US by self-report and by supply-and-disappearance data: 2001-2014

Author
item Conrad, Zachary
item CHUI, KENNETH - Tufts University
item Jahns, Lisa
item PETERS, CHRISTIAN - Tufts University
item GRIFFIN, TIMOTHY - Tufts University

Submitted to: Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/27/2017
Publication Date: 12/1/2017
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/6472284
Citation: Conrad, Z.S., Chui, K., Jahns, L.A., Peters, C., Griffin, T. 2017. Characterizing trends in fruit and vegetable intake in the US by self-report and by supply-and-disappearance data: 2001-2014. Public Health Nutrition. 20(17):3045-3050.

Interpretive Summary: There are two major datasets that report fruit and vegetable consumption at the national level, but little is known about how they compare with each other. We acquired data on fruit and vegetable consumption from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Food Availability data series (LAFA) from 2001-2014. We then compared these datasets in two ways: first, we compared trends in fruit and vegetable consumption over time; and second, we compared average fruit and vegetable consumption. We found no trends in fruit and vegetable consumption over time for either dataset, and only small differences in average fruit and vegetable consumption. Although these datasets produce similar results, NHANES may be best suited for measuring fruit and vegetable consumption at the national level because it allows researchers to examine individual fruits and vegetables consumed as part of mixed dishes. However, LAFA can be advantageous for other types of research, such as examining food waste.

Technical Abstract: Objective: To examine the comparability of fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake data in the US from 2001-2014 between data acquired from two national data collection programs. Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Linear regression models estimated trends in daily per-capita intake of total F&V. Pooled differences in intake of individual F&V (n=109) were examined by processing form (fresh, frozen, canned, dried, and juice). Setting: What We Eat in America (WWEIA, 2001-2014) and Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data series (LAFA, 2001-2014). Results: No temporal trends were observed in daily per capita intake of total F&V from 2001-2014 using WWEIA and LAFA. Modest differences between WWEIA and LAFA were observed in mean pooled intake of most individual F&V. Conclusions: WWEIA and LAFA produced similar estimates of F&V intake. However, WWEIA may be best suited for monitoring intake at the national level because it allows for the identification of individual F&V in foods with multiple ingredients, and it is structured for subpopulation analysis and covariate control. LAFA does retain advantages for other research protocols, specifically by providing the only nationally representative estimates of food losses at various points in the food system, which makes it useful for examining the adequacy of the food supply at the agricultural, retail, and consumer levels.