How to conduct whole food and food group analyses from dietary data using the minnesota nutrient data system (NDS)

Latest trends in dietary assessment and nutrition epidemiology research involve analyzing dietary data in terms of whole foods. Such analyses complement current dietary guidelines (e.g., the Food Pyramid) which recommend number of servings from various food groups. The Minnesota NDS is highly regarded for 24-hour dietary recall collection because of its extensive nutrient and food databases and its user-friendly interactive computer interface. Currently, NDS provides nutrient analyses and is in the process of developing methodology for "whole food" and "food group" analyses. This presentation communicates one method Penn State researchers developed to analyze children's whole food intake from dietary data collected in NDS for the Children's Health Project. Briefly, computer programming in SAS was written to: 1) collapse components of NDS foods to "whole food items"; 2) assign all foods to appropriate food groups; 3) convert grams of foods consumed to volume units; 4) assign serving sizes to all foods within food groups; and 5) calculate number of servings of foods from food groups. This methodology can serve as a template for other nutritionists and epidemiologists who want to analyze their dietary data in terms of whole foods and food groups using NDS.