National Nutrition Monitoring System: implications for public health policy at FDA

The National Nutrition Monitoring System (NNMS) plays an essential role in major nutrition activities of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In relation to the current sodium initiatives, it permits the measurement over time of changes in the sodium content of the food supply and in typical diets; in sodium labeling in the marketplace; in public awareness, concerns, and practices; and in the prevalence of hypertension and related factors, such as obesity. The FDA is responsible for U.S. fortification policy and its regulation. Currently, fortification policies and practices are being reexamined, largely on the basis of analysis and interpretation of data from the 1976-1980 second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a core component of the NNMS. FDA studies that are components of the NNMS, such as a recent survey of dietary supplement consumption, provide comprehensive data in specialized areas. Department-wide nutrition programs are also heavily dependent upon the NNMS for monitoring capabilities. Two current activities that will rely on NNMS data are the monitoring of progress in the Nutrition Objectives for the Nation for the 1990s and the development of departmental policy regarding diet, nutrition, and degenerative diseases.