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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Food Surveys Research Group » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #376133
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: What We Eat in America Food Categories, 2017-2018

Author
item Rhodes, Donna
item Clemens, John
item Friday, James
item Martin, Carrie
item Moshfegh, Alanna

Submitted to: Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/9/2020
Publication Date: 7/14/2020
Citation: Rhodes, D.G., Clemens, J.C., Friday, J.E., Martin, C.L., Moshfegh, A.J. 2020. What We Eat in America Food Categories, 2017-2018. Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group. Available: https://www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg/wweia_categories.

Interpretive Summary: Detailed analysis of food and beverage consumption of the U.S. population is limited, yet critical for developing food guidance programs and for dietary surveillance. The What We Eat in America (WWEIA) Food Categories, developed by the Food Surveys Research Group (FSRG), provides an application for analyzing foods and beverages as consumed in the American diet. Each of the food and beverage items that can be reported in our national survey, WWEIA, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), is placed into approximately 165 unique and mutually exclusive food categories. Designed to be flexible, the categories can be combined as necessary to address specific research questions. A new version of the WWEIA Food Categories is produced for each 2-year release cycle of NHANES and available on the FSRG website www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg. Potential uses of the WWEIA Food Categories include development of food guidance programs and educational materials, monitoring food intake, and identifying food trends.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of the What We Eat in America (WWEIA) Food Categories is to provide an application for analyzing foods and beverages as consumed in the American diet. Each food and beverage code in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) 2017-2018 is placed into one of the 167 mutually exclusive food categories; each category has a 4-digit number and description. A new version of the WWEIA Food Categories is produced for each 2-year release cycle of WWEIA, National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) and FNDDS. New for this release are additional categories for specific fruits and vegetables. In addition, a new subgroup, Mixed Dishes – Bean/Vegetable base was created that contains 2 new categories for bean, pea, legume dishes, and vegetable dishes. The focus of this categorization system is on grouping foods and beverages together that have similar usage and nutrient content. The categories contain discrete food codes mixed dishes are not disaggregated. The WWEIA Food Categories, intended for use with dietary intake data from WWEIA, NHANES are available on the FSRG website: www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg.