United States food consumption database, NHANES

The United States food consumption database, NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys), provides a snapshot of the health and nutrition of the US population. The surveys are conducted by the US National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control, through physical examinations, clinical and laboratory tests, and personal interviews. NHANES is arguably the largest and longest-running national source of objectively measured health and nutrition data.

NHANES surveys a nationally representative sample of people residing in the United States. The survey compiles detailed data sets on the food intake of consumers. This results in a database containing the food code, amount and a range of nutritional information for each participant. A range of other information is also stored, from demographics and physical characteristics to socio-economic information.

Working with the NHANES data

A large amount of this data is made public for use by researchers, industry and government organisations. The sheer amount of information makes the NHANES database difficult to work with using standard tools.

This is where CREMe Nano Foods comes in, CREMe Nano Foods facilitates the generation of nutritional, food intake, chemical exposure and health results from the NHANES food consumption database.

For example, if you need information on the consequences of folate fortification of grain products to demographic groups, or the potential health benefits of a reduction in the manufacturing and sales of lead-containing products, these results can be calculated and the benefits quantified easily and accurately with CREMe.

Data from NHANES can be used as the food consumption input data for CREMe when carrying out probabilistic exposure assessments for different demographic groups in the US.

Read our featured article in CRN on Making the Most of Your Food Consumption Databases for more information on how you can leverage this great resource to get the results you need. (Registration required Sign up now).

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For more information on NHANES click here.