Data and Statistics

Public health surveillance is the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of outcome-specific data for use in planning, interpretation, and evaluation of public health practice. Data sets and surveillance systems related to nutrition are provided. A number of the data sources can be used to examine public health issues across time or to compare groups at a specific time point.

The State Indicator Report on Fruits & Vegetables, 2009 (PDF- 1.23Mb) provides national and state-specific information on fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption and policy and environmental supports. The behavioral indicators are derived from objectives for F&V outlined in Healthy People 2010. The policy and environmental indicators measure a state's ability to support the consumption of F&V through increased access, availability, and reduced price in schools and communities. The report can be used to inform decision makers and track progress. The National Action Guide (PDF-160k) summarizes the national data on F&V consumption, policy, and environmental supports and provides potential actions that government and business leaders, coalitions, community-based organizations, and professionals can take to improve Americans' nutrition along with resources for taking action.

Breastfeeding Data and Statisics
CDC, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity
Includes U.S. National Immunization Survey, Breastfeeding Report Card, Infant Feeding Practices Survey II, Maternity Care Practices Survey and HealthStyles Survey.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
The BRFSS site includes SMART data, Selected Metropolitan/Micropolitan area data for adult fruit and vegetable consumption. Adolescent fruit and vegetable consumption data is available from Youth Online, which lets you analyze national, state, and local Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) data from 1991-2009.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
CDC, National Center for Health Statistics
NHANES is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations.

Nutrition Monitoring in the United States: The Directory of Federal and State Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Activities
CDC, National Center for Health Statistics
With the release on the Internet of the 2000 Directory of Federal and State Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Activities, researchers, reporters, and the public have a comprehensive and current guide to a wide array of nutrition information and research, with links directly to the Federal and State sources included in the Directory.

PedNSS: Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System and PNSS: Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System
CDC, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity
These program-based surveillance systems monitor the nutritional status of low-income infants, children, and women in federally funded maternal and child health programs. These systems provide data that describe prevalence and trends of nutrition, health, and behavioral indicators for mothers and children.

School Health Policies and Programs Study
CDC, Healthy Youth
The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. This includes nutrition services, education, and policies.

School Health Profiles
CDC, Healthy Youth
The School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a system of surveys assessing school health policies and practices in states, large urban school districts, territories, and tribal governments. This includes school health education requirements, nutrition and dietary behavior topics and school health policies and practices related to nutrition and other topics.

US Obesity Data and Statistics
CDC, Nutrition and Physical Activity
This site provides maps, PowerPoint slides and other data showing the changing prevalence in obesity in the United States. The prevalence data were collected through CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
CDC, Adolescent and School Health
YRBSS monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of health, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. Questions related to eating patterns such as fruit, vegetable and soda intake are included. The YRBSS includes national, state, and local school-based surveys of representative samples of 9th through 12th grade students.

Related Surveillance Systems

DHHS-USDA Dietary Survey Integration — What We Eat in America
What We Eat in America (WWEIA) is the dietary intake interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). WWEIA is conducted as a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). DHHS is responsible for the sample design and data collection, and USDA is responsible for the survey’s dietary data collection methodology, maintenance of the databases used to code and process the data, and data review and processing.

Healthy Eating Index
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a measure of diet quality that assesses conformance to federal dietary guidance. USDA’s primary use of the HEI is to monitor the diet quality of the U.S. population and the low-income subpopulation. For this purpose the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) uses the data collected via 24-hour recalls of dietary intake in national surveys. The original HEI was created by CNPP in 1995. It was revised in 2006 by a federal working group, led by CNPP with members from the National Cancer Institute and the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, to reflect the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Healthy People 2010 Data
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Healthy People 2010 is the prevention agenda for the nation. From this link, the database can be searched for a specific objective of a particular focus area (e.g. Nutrition and Overweight). Data can be searched for specific states and across years.