Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey
Summary
Włodzimierz Sekuła
National Food and Nutrition Institute
The first Polish national survey of individual food consumption was performed in 2000 which also included carrying out anthropometric measurements of height, body mass and circumferences of the arm, waist and hips. This was undertaken within the framework of an agreement made between the Polish Government, as represented by the Minister of Health, with the Food and Agriculture Organisation, (FAO), concerned with implementing the 'Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey'. The agreement being the result of Poland seeking technical help to satisfy the need for obtaining a precise assessment of the nutritional status of its population which up that time had been lacking. The project was conducted by the National Food and Nutrition Institute, (NFNI), with collaboration with the Central Statistical Office. In accordance with the concept of the project, a subsample of households was drawn from the total sample selected to participate in the household budget surveys in 2000. These surveys serve to provide information on living conditions of the population and are carried out every year. The subsample consisted of 1362 households with 4310 individual members. Of these, food consumption and anthropometric measurements were surveyed for 4134 individuals in the months September to November 2000 constituting 96% of the subsample. The survey was performed by personnel from the Central Statistical Office who were employed in the routine household budget surveys and who had previously undergone thorough training at the National Food and Nutrition Institute.
The results thus obtained have enabled identification of the dietary patterns in relation to sex, age and place of residence and their influence on nutritional status. The range and interpretation of the data was greatly expanded due to the unique project design covering subsample of the households participating in the household budget surveys and thus providing information collected through methodology used in them. The possibility of much wider data interpretation was utilized in extensive monograph published by the NFNI in 2003 as well as in numerous other publications from the NFNI. Results have been used in other European and national projects.
They form part of the Concise European Food Consumption Database which was created by EFSA and placed on the internet site. The NFNI is also in the process of implementing an agreement with EFSA to provide much more detailed results in order to create a comprehensive European Food Consumption Database for adults. Furthermore, the survey results are used in the EFSA project on the content of selected contaminants such as lead, chromium and selenium and food colorings in the diets of the children aged 1-10 years.
References (selected)
- L.Szponar, W.Sekuła, E.Rychlik, M.Ołtarzewski, K.Figurska.: Badania indywidualnego spożycia żywności i stanu odżywienia w gospodarstwach domowych.Warszawa 2003.Prace IŻŻ 101.
2. L.Szponar, W.Sekuła, M.Nelson and Robert C.Weisell.:The Household Food Consumption and Anthropometric Survey in Poland. Public Health Nutrition. Volume 4. Number 5 (B), 2001.
3. W.Sekula, M.Nelson, K.Figurska, M.Ołtarzewski, R.Weisell and L.Szponar.: Comparison between household budget survey and 24-hour recall data in a nationally representative sample of Polish households. Public Health Nutrition. 8(4), 430-439. 2005