Using Household Expenditure Surveys for Comparable and Replicable Nutritional Analysis: Evidence from México

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Public Health Nutrition
• Food Policy

Background:

• Assessing population-level nutrient availability is crucial for public health.
• Existing methods often lack standardization and comparability.
• Household expenditure and income surveys (HEIS) offer a potential data source.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a replicable and comparable method for estimating nutrient availability from HEIS data.
• To create a publicly available dataset for converting food purchases into nutrient values.
• To analyze trends in nutrient intake among Mexican households and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Formalized a three-step process: identifying food categories, mapping food items to nutrient groups, and calculating nutrient content.
• Applied the method to Mexican HEIS data from 2008-2020.
• Calculated availability for calories, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and zinc.

Main Results:

• A publicly available dataset was created to convert food purchases into six key nutrients.
• Descriptive analysis showed stable nutrient intake trends for most of the period.
• A notable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was observed, primarily due to reduced spending on food consumed away from home.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a standardized approach for estimating nutrient availability from HEIS data.
• The study highlights the vulnerability of household nutrient availability to external shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Findings underscore the importance of monitoring dietary patterns and food security at the population level.