Diet Sustainability Analyses Can Be Improved With Updates to the Food Commodity Intake Database

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Environmental Science
• Data Science

Background:

• Diet sustainability analyses are crucial for policy and consumer guidance.
• The Food Commodity Intake Database (FCID) integrates food intake (NHANES) with sustainability data but hasn't been updated since 2010.
• Outdated FCID limits contemporary diet sustainability research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update the FCID by linking it with NHANES 2011-2018 data.
• To compare food intake estimates using updated versus outdated FCID versions.
• To make the updated data publicly accessible for researchers.

Main Methods:

• Novel data linkages were established between FCID and NHANES 2011-2018.
• Data were acquired from nearly 45,000 adults (2001-2018).
• Discrepancies were resolved and linkages audited for accuracy.

Main Results:

• Total daily per capita food intake was 5-23% higher with the updated FCID (2011-2018).
• Intake for categories like poultry, eggs, and legumes increased over 100% in some years.
• Significant differences were observed across multiple food categories (P < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The updated FCID provides more accurate food intake data for diet sustainability analyses.
• This linkage removes a significant barrier for researchers studying diet sustainability.
• Future work should focus on updating food composition data for new products.