Nutrients in national dietary surveillance reported in scientific literature: A scoping review

Authors: Kogan, Kelly; Waller, Anna; Hoy, Mary; Crawford, Sara; COWAN-PYLE, ALEXANDRA - Texas A&M University; MITCHELL, DIANE - Texas A&M University; MOHR, WHITNEY - Texas A&M University; BAILEY, REGAN - Florida State University; Moshfegh, Alanna

Submitted to: Journal of Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/18/2025
Publication Date: 12/2/2025
Citation: Kogan, K.M., Waller, A.W., Hoy, M.K., Crawford, S.B., Cowan-Pyle, A.E., Mitchell, D.C., Mohr, W.J., Bailey, R.L., Moshfegh, A.J. 2025. Nutrients in national dietary surveillance reported in scientific literature: A scoping review. Journal of Nutrition. 12(155):4100-4108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.09.018.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.09.018

Interpretive Summary: The U.S. national dietary surveillance program, What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES), quantifies intake of nutrients and other food components by the U. S. population. The use of this continuously collected, nationally representative data in the scientific research literature has been quantified in a scoping review in the scientific literature over a 10-year period between 2013 and 2023. Of 12,589 screened studies, 2,203 met the inclusion criteria. The number of included studies by publication year increased nearly fourfold over the study period and were authored by researchers located in 60 countries. The most frequently reported nutrients were energy (n=1,724; 78%), total saturated fatty acids (n=918; 42%), sodium (n=828; 38%), protein (n=748; 34%), total polyunsaturated fatty acids (n=745; 34%), total monounsaturated fatty acids (n=702; 32%), dietary fiber (n=707; 32%), total fat (n=682; 31%), and carbohydrates (n=598; 27%). Nearly one-third of studies used one of 38 unique dietary indices (n=677; 31%). The use of WWEIA, NHANES data in the scientific literature is prominent, and has grown over time. The widespread use of this national dietary surveillance data demonstrates its importance for continued nutrition research, surveillance, and policy.

Technical Abstract: The U.S. national dietary surveillance program, What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES), quantifies intake of nutrients and other food components. The widespread use of this continuously collected, nationally representative, publicly available data has never been quantified. This scoping review was conducted to determine the extent to which the nutrients in WWEIA, NHANES have been reported in the scientific literature. Titles and abstracts of scientific studies were searched in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Inclusion criteria required studies to be peer-reviewed, published in English between 2013 and 2023, and report one or more nutrients using WWEIA, NHANES data from any cycle of the continuous NHANES (1999-2020). Screening and data extraction were conducted by two independent reviewers, with conflict resolution by a third reviewer. Of 12,589 screened studies, 2,203 met the inclusion criteria. The number of included studies by publication year increased nearly fourfold over the study period and were authored by researchers located in 60 countries. The most frequently reported nutrients were energy (n=1,724; 78%), total saturated fatty acids (n=918; 42%), sodium (n=828; 38%), protein (n=748; 34%), total polyunsaturated fatty acids (n=745; 34%), total monounsaturated fatty acids (n=702; 32%), dietary fiber (n=707; 32%), total fat (n=682; 31%), and carbohydrates (n=598; 27%). Nearly one-third of studies used one of 38 unique dietary indices (n=677; 31%). The use of WWEIA, NHANES data in the scientific literature is prominent, and has grown over time. The widespread use of this national dietary surveillance data demonstrates its importance for continued nutrition research, surveillance, and policy.