Nutrition Monitoring and Research

Nutrition Monitoring and Research

Nutrition Monitoring and Research

Increasing federal investment in food, nutrition and health research

The 1977 farm bill designated the US Department of Agriculture the lead agency in the federal government for the food and agricultural sciences. Unfortunately, years of flat and declining USDA research budgets are leading to a crisis in food and agricultural research.

There is a need for an increased investment in all areas of food and agriculture research. Federal research provides the bedrock for knowledge about food, nutrition, agricultural productivity, the environment and climate. A federal investment in food, nutrition, agriculture and environment research is need to guide sound environmental, agriculture, economic and social decisions. A shift of about one percent in total federal expenditures for food and agriculture — $1 billion of new funding — can help catch up from years of flat and declining budgets and adequately invest in the knowledge that can sustain and improve life on this planet.

Protecting the program of work of the ARS and its Human Nutrition Research Centers

USDA’s human nutrition research program is housed in centers across the nation. Researchers in these facilities:

  • track changes in the food supply and dietary habits;
  • seek to learn optimal levels of nutrient intake;
  • study relationships between diet, genetics and lifestyles; and
  • evaluate maintaining health through health promoting strategies.

Their discovery of novel health-promoting compounds in foods has reshaped our knowledge of diet and nutrition, and today much of the work of the Human Nutrition Research Centers serves as the scientific underpinning for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the basis of all federal nutrition programs.

Nutrition Monitoring (NHANES)

Knowing what Americans eat and how their diets directly affect their health provides valuable information to guide policies on food safety, food labeling, food assistance, military rations and dietary guidance. The USDA Agricultural Research Service and the DHHS National Center for Health Statistics jointly conduct national nutrition monitoring activities under the integrated NHANES/CSFII survey. Collected data are essential for informing policymakers, researchers and the public on the health and nutrition status of American children and adults. The national nutrition monitoring system is this nation’s best and most comprehensive method of assessing nutritional health because the survey continuously collects usual dietary and supplement intake and laboratory indicators of nutrition status from a nationally representative US sample.

Congress needs to provide authorization for the national programs that measure what people are eating and drinking. Nutrition monitoring is necessary for evaluating public health strategies, the effectiveness of food and nutrition programs, and making the connection between diet and health. Similarly, consistently current information on the composition of foods is necessary for individuals to know what they are consuming, manage some disease conditions and make healthful choices.