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Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program

Dietary Assessment Research Resources

Dietary Assessment Methods

Dietary Collection Resources

  • Catalogue of Surveillance SystemsExternal Web Site Policy
    The Catalogue of Surveillance Systems provides one-stop access to more than 100 publicly available datasets relevant to childhood obesity research, developed by the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research, a public-private partnership supported in part by NIH.
  • Dietary Assessment Primer
    This primer helps researchers determine the best way to assess diet for any study in which estimates of group intakes are required.
  • Dietary Assessment Methodology [PDF - 523 KB]
    Review, authored by NCI staff and published in 2017, of individual-level intake assessment methods, advantages and disadvantages, and validity; selecting methods based on study designs and/or study populations.
  • Measurement Error Webinar Series
    This series of 12 videos provides an understanding of the sources and magnitudes of dietary measurement errors, how measurement error may affect estimates of usual dietary intake distributions, how measurement error may affect analyses of diet-health relationships, and how the effects of measurement error may be mitigated.
  • Measures Registry Resource SuiteExternal Web Site Policy
    This registry is a searchable database of diet and physical activity measures relevant to childhood obesity developed by the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research, a public-private partnership supported in part by NIH.
  • Register of Validated Short Dietary Instruments
    This register provides descriptive information about validated short instruments along with any associated validation studies, publications, and copies of the instruments, when available.

Data Collection Tools

  • Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool (ASA24)
    ASA24 is a free, web-based tool for epidemiologic, interventional, behavioral, or clinical research that enables multiple, automatically coded self-administered 24-hour recalls and food records. The ASA24 system can also be used by clinicians for diet assessment and nutritional counseling and educators for teaching about nutrition or dietary assessment.
  • Daily Food Checklist
    This machine scannable seven-day checklist instrument is a form of food record that does not rely on memory and has a relatively low respondent and investigator burden. It can be used as a stand-alone instrument or in conjunction with another dietary assessment instrument.
  • Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ)
    A free food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed by NCI staff for use by researchers, clinicians, or teachers.
  • Short Dietary Assessment Instruments
    This is a compilation of short instruments that assess intake of fruits and vegetables, percentage energy from fat, fiber, added sugars, whole grains, calcium, dairy products, and red and processed meats.

Food Composition Databases

  • Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED)
    The FPED was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It converts foods and beverages in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) to 37 USDA Food Patterns components. FPED was formerly known as the MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED).
  • Pyramid Servings Database for NHANES III
    This database facilitates the examination of dietary data from the National Center for Health Statistics' Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-94) in terms of servings from each of The Food Guide Pyramid's major and minor food groups.
  • What We Eat in America Food Categories
    The top food sources of various dietary components can be identified using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The What We Eat in America Food Categories provide an application to analyze foods and beverages as consumed in the American diet. View a sample analysis of top food sources using NHANES data from 2003-2006.

Diet Analysis Tools

Archived Resources