INFORMATION RESOURCES ON FOOD AND HEALTH
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Sources of data
Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, 2010
This statistical report presents a range of information on obesity, physical activity and diet, drawn together from a variety of sources.
The topics covered include:
- Overweight and obesity prevalence among adults and children;
- Physical activity levels among adults and children;
- Trends in purchases and consumption of food and drink and energy intake; and
- Health outcomes of being overweight or obese.
A Review and Needs Assessment of Local Level Diet and Nutrition Data
The ability to measure and monitor patterns and trends in health-related eating behaviours and dietary intakes is important for Local Authorities and PCTs who want to prioritise, target, plan and commission diet improvement interventions and services.
At present, the lack of robust sources or methods for collecting local-level dietary data is a barrier to inclusion of local dietary improvement initiatives in local plans. This is almost certainly hindering progress towards the key Government ambition to address the rise in prevalence of obesity in England.
This report aims to:
- Identify data and information needed to inform the planning, monitoring and evaluation of local-level dietary improvement practice and interventions.
- Review existing sources of local-level diet and nutrition data and information and their strengths and weaknesses and identify gaps between what is needed and what is available.
- Review methodologies for collecting diet and nutrition data to determine their potential utility in filling the identified information gaps.
Together with the forthcoming APHO Health, Well-being and Lifestyle Survey Toolkit it should inform local-level efforts work to:
- Establish baselines and targets for dietary improvement.
- Target interventions to improve diet and nutrition.
- Evaluate local dietary improvement initiatives.
Health Survey for England
The Health Survey for England (HSE) comprises a series of annual surveys beginning in 1991. The series is part of an overall programme of surveys commissioned by the DH and designed to provide regular information on various aspects of the nation's health. All surveys have covered the adult population aged 16 and over living in private households in England. Children were included in every year since 1995.
Each year the Health Survey for England focuses on a different demographic group or disease condition and its risk factors and looks at health indicators such as cardio-vascular disease, physical activity, eating habits, oral health, accidents, and asthma. From 2001, the survey contained questions relating to consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Neighbourhood Statistics: Model-Based Estimates of Healthy Lifestyles Behaviours, 2003-05
The Information Centre (The IC) commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to produce model based estimates of healthy lifestyle behaviours, using information from the Health Survey for England (HSfE). The estimates were produced to help meet users' requirements for more up to date information at the local area level.
Model-based estimates and 95 per cent confidence intervals have been produced using 2003-2005 data from the Health Survey for England covering the prevalence of the healthy lifestyle indicators for adults aged 16 or over, including the consumption of 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day among adults.
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS)
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey is a national dietary survey jointly funded by the FSA and the DH. The NDNS was previously a series of cross-sectional surveys but in April 2008 it changed to a rolling programme with data collected annually. The core programme will collect nutritional data from approximately 1000 people annually (adults and children > 18 months) from a representative UK sample. Dietary data is collected using an unweighed diary covering four consecutive days. Nutritional status is also derived from analysis of blood and urine samples, and background information on dietary habits is also collected through a face to face interview. Headline results are to be delivered annually in the December following a complete year of collection, with a more detailed report expected four years thereafter. The first set of headline results are expected in December 2009 and the first detailed report is due out in 2013. Previous reports can be obtained from the following link to the FSA’s website.
National Food Survey
The National Food Survey (NFS) is the longest-running continuous government social survey having originally been set up in the 1940s to monitor the diet of the urban 'working class' population during the war years. In 1950 it was extended to cover all households in the general population and to collect data on food consumption and expenditure. This survey ended in 2001 and replaced by the Expenditure and Food Survey (see below).
Expenditure and Food Survey
The Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS) took over from the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) and the National Food Survey (NTS) and started in April 2001. It is a continuous survey of household expenditure, food consumption and income. The primary uses are to provide information about spending patterns for the Retail Price Index, and about food consumption and nutrition. Like the FES, it will also feed into estimates of consumers' expenditure in the National Accounts, be used for tax benefit modelling and be an important source of economic and social data for government and other research agencies.
Family Food
Family Food is the source of detailed statistical information on purchased quantities, expenditure and nutrient intakes derived from both household and eating out food and drink. Data is collected for a sample of households in the United Kingdom using self-reported diaries of all purchases, including food eaten out, over a two week period. Where possible quantities are recorded in the diaries but otherwise estimated. Energy and nutrient intakes are calculated using standard profiles for each of some 500 types of food.
Current estimates are based on data collected in the Expenditure and Food Survey and on adjusted data collected in the National Food Survey.
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PAGE CREATED: 1 April 2007 | PAGE REVISED: 16 February 2010