Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2026
04:46
'Boden Food Plate': Novel Interactive Web-based Method for the Assessment of Dietary Intake
Published on: September 18, 2018
Food composition database harmonization for between-country comparisons of nutrient data in the TEDDY Study
Ulla Uusitalo1, Carina Kronberg-Kippila, Carin Andren Aronsson
1University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA.
Summary
Comparing national food composition databases is crucial for the Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young Study (TEDDY). Many nutrients are comparable, enabling reliable dietary analysis for environmental exposures.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Environmental Health
- Pediatric Research
Background:
- The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study investigates environmental factors influencing islet autoimmunity in children.
- Accurate dietary assessment is vital for comparing environmental exposures across international study sites.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically compare national food composition databases (FCDB) from Finland, Germany, Sweden, and the US.
- To ensure the comparability of dietary assessment data for the TEDDY study.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a systematic comparison of energy, macronutrients, 13 vitamins, and 8 minerals across four national FCDBs.
- Evaluated definitions, units of measurement, and analytical methods for each food component.
- Identified necessary adjustments for achieving data comparability.
Main Results:
- Key nutrients like total fat, cholesterol, several vitamins (A, B12), and minerals (calcium, iron) are comparable across all four databases.
- Other components, including carbohydrates, fiber, and additional vitamins/minerals, are comparable or convertible across at least three databases.
- Specific adjustments, such as subtracting tocotrienols or recalculating protein from nitrogen, are needed for full comparability of certain nutrients.
Conclusions:
- Most essential nutrients are comparable across the national food composition databases, supporting the TEDDY study's dietary assessment goals.
- Minor data harmonization efforts are required for specific nutrients to ensure robust cross-country comparisons.
- Starch and folate remain non-comparable, necessitating alternative assessment strategies.
Related Concept Videos
01:16Bioequivalence: Overview
Pharmaceutical equivalents, by definition, are drug products with the same active ingredient in the same quantities, encapsulated in identical dosage forms, and intended for the same administration routes. These pharmaceutical equivalents are deemed bioequivalent if the bioavailability of the active entity in the drug preparations is similar. Moreover, pharmaceutical equivalents demonstrating bioequivalence are also regarded as therapeutically equivalent. This means that when used as directed,...
01:28Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Lipids also are sources of energy that power cellular processes. Like carbohydrates, lipids are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but these atoms are arranged differently. Most lipids are nonpolar and hydrophobic. Major types include fats and oils, waxes, phospholipids, and steroids.
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
01:13Bioavailability: Overview
Bioavailability refers to the proportion of an unaltered drug that, after administration, enters the systemic circulation and can be distributed to the desired action site. Factors such as gastrointestinal (GI) absorption and liver biotransformation influence the bioavailability of a drug when it is administered orally. When a drug is administered intravenously, it enters the systemic circulation directly; by definition, its bioavailability is assumed to be 100%. The bioavailability of an...
01:23Dietary Connections
In biological systems, most metabolic pathways are interconnected. The cellular respiration processes that convert glucose to ATP—such as glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation, and the citric acid cycle—tie into those that break down other organic compounds. As a result, various foods—from apples to cheese to guacamole—end up as ATP. In addition to carbohydrates, food also contains proteins and lipids—such as cholesterol and fats. All of these organic compounds are used as energy sources to produce...