What We Eat In America, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic: Documentation and Data Files

Authors: Moshfegh, Alanna; Goldman, Joseph; Anand, Jaswinder; Friday, James; Martin, Carrie; MORTON, SUZANNE - American Society For Nutrition; Myrowitz, Rebecca; Rhodes, Donna; Sebastian, Rhonda

Submitted to: Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group
Publication Type: Research Technical Update
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/3/2022
Publication Date: 8/3/2022
Citation: Moshfegh, A.J., Goldman, J.D., Anand, J., Friday, J.E., Martin, C.L., Morton, S., Myrowitz, R., Rhodes, D.G., Sebastian, R.S. 2022. What We Eat In America, NHANES 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic: Documentation and Data Files. Worldwide Web Site: Food Surveys Research Group. Available: https://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=18354.

Interpretive Summary: High quality and timely data are needed on dietary intakes of the American population. New nationwide dietary intake data were collected in the integrated survey What We Eat In America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 2017-March 2020 prepandemic and are available for public use. The 2017-March 2020 files represent unique public-use data release from NHANES. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic required suspension of data collection in March 2020. As a result, the partially completed NHANES 2019-2020 cycle was not nationally representative. Therefore, the 2019-March 2020 data were combined with the data from the 2017-2018 cycle to create the nationally representative 2017-March 2020 prepandemic data files. The data include information on dietary intakes of 12,634 individuals from two nonconsecutive 24-hour dietary recalls along with sample weights that can be used to calculate intake estimates representative of the U.S. population. These data are used by federal and state-level decision makers and researchers in such tasks as monitoring the nutritional adequacy of U.S. diets, measuring the impact of food fortification on nutrient intakes, estimating exposure of population groups to contaminants, developing dietary guidance and related programs, evaluating the nutritional impact of USDA food assistance programs, and assessing the demand for agricultural products. Linked with health indicators from other components of NHANES, these data provide opportunities to study relationships between eating patterns and health conditions. The WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 prepandemic dietary interview data and related files and information about WWEIA, NHANES, with links to relevant methodology (interview method and database), are available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg.

Technical Abstract: New nationwide dietary intake data were collected in What We Eat In America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 2017-March 2020 prepandemic and are available for public use. The 2017-March 2020 files represent unique public-use data release from NHANES. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic required suspension of data collection in March 2020. As a result, the partially completed NHANES 2019-2020 cycle was not nationally representative. Therefore, the 2019-March 2020 data were combined with the data from the 2017-2018 cycle to create the nationally representative 2017-March 2020 prepandemic data files. Two days of dietary intake data are included for most participants. The dietary interview data are in two types of files for each day of intake: The Total Nutrient Intakes Files and the Individual Foods Files. The Individual Foods Files contain information about each food eaten by a respondent (interview day of week, eating occasion name and time of day, food code, where obtained, whether eaten at home or not, combination code, amount eaten in grams, and amounts of energy and 64 nutrients/food components). The Total Nutrient Intakes Files contain, for each participant, daily aggregates of energy and nutrients/food components and information about water intakes. Information on salt use and whether the participant is on a diet to lose weight or for another health-related reason is also included for all participants, and frequency of fish and shellfish consumption is provided for selected age-sex groups. The documentation files give a brief overview of WWEIA, NHANES and include information on what has changed since WWEIA, NHANES 2009-2010 to 2017-March 2020 prepandemic contents of the data files, eligibility and exclusion criteria of sampled participants, the examination protocol, quality control procedures, data processing and editing, and analytic notes including guidance on weights designed specifically for dietary recall data. The WWEIA, NHANES 2017-March 2020 dietary interview data and related files and information about WWEIA, NHANES, with links to relevant methodology (interview method and database), are available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg.