Agencies Cooperate to Make Better Data Available

Sub-agencies of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week launched new, integrated federal nationwide food consumption data on the World Wide Web for public use. USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) food consumption survey (formerly CSFII), known as “What We Eat in America,” has been integrated with HHS’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, known as NHANES. In the past, both federal surveys were conducted periodically and the NHANES recorded only one day's worth of dietary intake data from each respondent. The new integrated dietary survey is done annually and collects two days of data on each of about 5,000 participants. To access “What We Eat In America” on the World Wide Web, go to: http://www.barc.usda.gov/bhnrc/foodsurvey/wweia.html