Dietary Assessment Research Resources

On this page...

• Dietary Collection Resources
• Data Collection Tools
• Food Composition Databases
• Diet Analysis Tools
• Archived Resources

Dietary Assessment Methods

Dietary Collection Resources

• Catalogue of Surveillance Systems
  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 Suite
  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

• Healthy Eating Index
  The HEI is a scoring metric that measures diet quality, independent of quantity, to assess compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to monitor changes in dietary patterns.
• Linking ASA24 and NHANES Data with the Nova Classification System for Industrial Food Processing
  This webpage provides information on how to request database files linking USDA’s food codes, by version of the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour (ASA24) Dietary Assessment Tool and cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, to the Nova Classification System for industrial food processing.
• Standardized Method for Estimating Intakes of Processed Red Meat and Processed Poultry
  The Processed Meat Categories method is a SAS program that offers researchers a standardized way of estimating intake of various red meat and poultry categories.
• NCI Usual Dietary Intake Method
  The NCI method can be used to estimate usual dietary intakes of foods and nutrients using 24-hour recalls. The concept of usual intake is important because dietary recommendations are intended to be met over time.
• World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) Score
  The WCRF/AICR Score is a standardized scoring system that can be used by researchers to assess adherence to the WCRF/AICR Cancer Prevention Recommendations and examine associations with cancer and other health-related outcomes.

Archived Resources

• Dietary Assessment Calibration/Validation Register Archived in its original format.
  A permanent record of all files included in the DACV Register is available upon request from NCI's Risk Factor Assessment Branch; contact rfab@mail.nih.gov to request a copy.
• National Children's Study (NCS) Diet Assessment Literature Review Evaluation of available methodology for measuring food, nutrient and dietary supplement intakes to determine which instruments would be most suitable for the various stages of life to be studied in the NCS.