Recommendations on sources of survey data on food consumption to meet FNS' research needs

200 Pages·1992·8 MB·English

by  Fraker, Thomas.

Historic, archived document

Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.
Contract No.: FNS 53-3198-8-95 (Task Order 6)
MPR Reference No.: 8031-300
RECOMMENDATIONS ON SOURCES OF
SURVEY DATA ON FOOD CONSUMPTION
TO MEET FINS'RESEARCH NEEDS
Angnst 28, 1992
Authors:
Thomas Fraker
Sheena McConnell
Submitted to: Submitted by:
United States Department of Agriculture Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Food and Nutrition Service 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
3101 Park Center Drive Suite 550
Alexandria, VA 22302 Washington, D.C. 20024
Attention: Pat Dinkelacker Project Director: Thomas Fraker
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Pat Dinkelacker, Ted Macaluso, and Margaret Andrews of the
Food and Nutrition Service, Mary Hama of the Human Nutrition Information Service (HNIS), and
Steve Lutz, formerly of HNIS, for their extremely helpful comments on an earlier version of the fh'st
four chapters of this report. In addition, Mary Hama provided extremely helpful information about
the Nationwide Food Consumption Survey and other HNIS databases, and Steve Lutz provided a
detailed description of the Thrifty Food Plan. Professor David Eastwood of The University of
Tennessee made a major contribution as a co-author of a section of the report on grocery store scan
data (Section III.H). Pat Doyle and Jim Ohls of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. provided
comments on an earlier draft of this report. Daisy Ewell provided excellent research assistance. We
also thank Daryl Hall who edited the report and Chiquita Payne who prepared the manuscript.
iii
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................ iii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................... xiii
I INTRODUCTION............................................. 1
A. TYPES OF DATA ON FOOD CONSUMPTION .................. 1
1. Food Expenditure ........................................ 2
2. Food Use .............................................. 3
3. Food Intake ............................................ 3
B. FNS' NEEDS FOR SURVEY DATA ON FOOD CONSUMPTION .... 4
1. The Impacts of FNS' Programs on Food Consumption ............ 5
2. Program Design ......................................... 5
3. Program Participation ..................................... 5
4. Descriptive Studies of Food Consumption ...................... 6
5. Methodological Studies .................................... 6
C. THE 1987-88 NATIONWIDE FOOD CONSUMPTION
SURVEY................................................. 6
D. ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF DATA ON FOOD
CONSUMPTION........................................... 8
E. THE STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT ......................... 9
II FNS' NEEDS FOR SURVEY DATA ON FOOD CONSUMPTION ....... 11
A. EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF FNS' PROGRAMS ON FOOD
CONSUMPTION........................................... 14
1. Estimating the Impact of the FSP on Household
Food Use .............................................. 15
2. Estimating the Impact of WIC on the Diets of Women,
Infants,andChildren ..................................... 19
3. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nutrition Education
Programs .............................................. 23
B. PROGRAMDESIGN ....................................... 24
1. Revising the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) ......................... 24
2. Estimating Economies-of-Scale Adjustments in FSP
Benefits ............................................... 29
3. Changing the FSP Benefit Issuance System, Criteria
for Authorizing Retail Stores, and Coupon Denominations ......... 32
V
CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
II (continued)
C. MODELING PROGRAM PARTICIPATION ..................... 34
1. Modeling Participation in the NSLP and SBP ................... 34
D. DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES OF FOOD CONSUMPTION ............ 36
1. Describing the Food Choices of Low-Income Households .......... 36
2. Describing the Food Intake of Low-Income Children ............. 37
E. METHODOLOGICAL STUDIES .............................. 38
1. Estimating the Distribution of Usual Dietary Intake
with Only One Day of Dietary Intake Data ..................... 38
2. Developing Methodologies for Analyzing Self-Selection
in Models of Multiple Program Participation .................... 40
3. Validating Data From the Food Stamp Cashout
Demonstration Evaluations ................................. 41
III THE 1987-88 NATIONWIDE FOOD CONSUMPTION
SURVEY(NFCS) ............................................. 43
A. DESCRIPTION OF THE 1987-88 NFCS ......................... 43
1. HouseholdFoodUseData ................................. 44
2. IndividualFoodIntake Data ................................ 45
3. Household and IndividualCharacteristics ...................... 45
B. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN THE 1987-88NFCS ................. 46
1. Loss of Precision Resulting from Nonresponse .................. 47
2. Bias Resulting from Nonresponse and Incomplete
Coverage .............................................. 49
C. COMBINING DATA FROM THE BASIC AND
LOW4NCOME SAMPLES OF THE 1987-88NFCS ................ 58
1. The Potential Benefits of Combining Data From the
TwoSamplesof the 1987-88NFCS ........................... 59
2. The General Problem of Combining Data From a
BasicSample and aLow-Income Sample ....................... 59
3. The Specific Problem of Combining Data From the
Two Samples of the 1987-88 NFCS ........................... 60
D. USEFULNESS OF THE 1987-88NFCS.......................... 61
vi
CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
IV ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF DATA ON FOOD
CONSUMPTION .............................................. 65
A. THE CON'IINUING SURVEY OF FOOD INTAKES BY
INDnnDUAL(ScsFn)......................................
1. De2cription of the CSFII .................................. 68
2. Combining 1989-91 CSFII Data to Obtain More
Observations............................................ 70
3. Strengths and Weaknesses of the CSFII in Meeting
FNS' Research Needs ..................................... 72
B. THE NATIONAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION
EXAMINATION SURVEY (NHANF_S) ......................... 73
1. Description of NHANF_,S .................................. 73
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of NHANES III in Meeting
FNS' Research Needs ..................................... 76
C. THE CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEY (CF_S).............. 77
1. Descriptionofthe _ .................................... 77
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the CES in Meeting
FNS'ResearchNeeds ..................................... 80
D. THE 1977-78 NFCS AND THE 1979-80 SURVEY OF
FOOD CONSUMPTION IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
(SFC-LI)................................................. 80
1. Differencesin SurveyDesign ............................... 81
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the 1977-78 NFCS and
the 1979-80 SFC-LI in Meeting FNS' Research Needs ............ 83
E. THE SURVEY OF INCOME AND PROGRAM
PARTICIPATION(SIPP) .................................... 84
1. DescriptionofSIPP ...................................... 84
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of SIPP in Meeting FNS'
Research Needs ......................................... 85
F. THE PANEL STUDY OF INCOME DYNAMICS (PSID) ........... 86
1. Descriptionofthe PSID ................................... 86
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the PSID in Meeting
FNS'ResearchNeeds ..................................... 87
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CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
IV (continued)
G. THE DIET AND HEALTH KNOWLEDGE SURVEY (DHKS) ...... 88
1. Description of the DHKS .................................. 88
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the DHKS in Meeting
FNS' Research Needs ..................................... 89
H. GROCERY STORE SCAN DATA ............................. 90
1. General Information on Scanner Systems ...................... 91
2. Forms ofScanData ...................................... 96
3. Uses of Scan Data by Food Retailers ......................... 97
4. Proprietary Data Sets Derived from Scanner Systems ............. 100
5. Food-Purchase Data in an EBT Environment ................... 104
6. Strengths and Weaknesses of Scan Data in Meeting
FNS' Research Needs ..................................... 105
I. DATABASES FROM THE FOOD STAMP CASHOUT
DEMONSTRATION EVALUATIONS .......................... 106
1. Description of the Food Stamp Cashout Demonstration
Evaluations............................................. 107
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Food Stamp Cashout
Demonstration Evaluation Databases in Meeting FNS'
Research Needs ......................................... 108
J. THE SCHOOL NUTRITION DIETARY ASSESSMENT
(SNDA) STUDY DATABASE ................................. 109
1. Description of the SNDA Study ............................. 109
2. Strengths and Weaknesses of the SNDA Database in
Meeting FNS' Research Needs .............................. 111
V FNS' NEEDS FOR SURVEY DATA: OPTIONS ON HOW
TO MEET EACH NEED ....................................... 113
A. EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF FNS' PROGRAMS
ON FOOD CONSUMPTION ................................. 113
1. Estimating the Impact of the FSP on Household Food
Use .................................................. 117
2. Estimating the Impact of WIC on the Diets of Women,
Infants, andChildren ..................................... 120
3. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nutrition Education Programs ...... 124
,°°
vnl
CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
V (continued)
B. PROGRAM DESIGN ....................................... 126
1. Revising the Thrifty Food Plan .............................. 126
2. Estimating Economies-of-Scale Adjustments in FSP Benefits ........ 128
3. Changing the FSP Benefit Issuance System, Criteria for
Authorizing Retail Stores, and Coupon Denominations ............ 129
C. MODELING PROGRAM PARTICIPATION ..................... 131
1. Modeling Participation in the NSLP and SBP ................... 133
D. DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES OF FOOD CONSUMPTION ............ 136
1. Describing the Food Choices of Low-Income Households .......... 136
2. Describing the Food Intake of Low-Income Children ............. 137
E. METHODOLOGICAL STUDIES .............................. 140
1. Estimating the Distribution of Usual Dietary Intake
with Only One Day of Dietary Intake Data ..................... 141
2. Developing Methodologies for Analyzing Self-Selection
in Models of Multiple Program Participation .................... 142
3. Validating Data from the Food Stamp Cashout
Demonstration Evaluations ................................ 144
VI RECOMMENDATIONS ON WAYS TO MEET FNS' NEEDS
FOR SURVEY DATA ON FOOD CONSUMPTION .................. 147
A. THE 1987-88NFCS ......................................... 147
1. Background ............................................ 147
2. Recommendations ....................................... 148
B. ALTERNATIVE EXISTING OR PLANNED DATABASES ......... 149
1. The 1989-91CSFII ....................................... 149
2. NHANESIII ........................................... 151
3. The CES .............................................. 151
4. The PSID .............................................. 152
5. The Cashout Demonstration Evaluation Databases ............... 153
6. Grocery Store Scan Data .................................. 154
7. The Database for the School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study .... 155
ix
CONTENTS (continued)
Chapter Page
VI (continued)
C. A NEW NATIONWIDE SURVEY OF FOOD USE BY
LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ............................... 155
D. RECOMMENDATIONS ON WAYS TO MEET THE DATA
NEEDS OF SPECIFIC FNS RESEARCH PROJECTS .............. 158
E. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ........................ 158
REFERENCES ............................................... 163
APPENDIX: ABSTRACTS OF FOOD CONSUMPTION DATABASES
TABLES
Table Page
IL1 EXAMPLES OF FNS' RESEARCH PROJECTS AND THEIR
MAJORDATANEEDS ......................................... 12
II.2 MINIMUM SAMPLE SIZES REQUIRED TO DETECT
DIFFERENCES IN FOOD USE AND NUTRIENT
AVAILABILrrY BETWEEN FSP HOUSEHOLDS AND
NON-FSP HOUSEHOLDS ....................................... 17
11.3 MINIMUM SAMPLE SIZES REQUIRED TO DETECT
DIFFERENCES IN THE INTAKE OF FOOD ENERGY
BETWEEN WIC PARTICIPANTS AND NONPARTICIPANTS .......... 22
III.1 ACTUAL AND TARGET SAMPLE SIZES OF THE 1987-88
NFCS........................................................ 48
III.2 NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS IN THE BASIC AND
LOW-INCOME SAMPLES OF THE 1987-88 NFCS BY
CHARACTERISTIC OF HOUSEHOLD ............................. 50
111.3 NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE BASIC SAMPLE OF
THE 1987-88 NFCS BY CHARACTERISTIC OF INDIVIDUAL .......... 51
IV.1 CHARAUrERISTICS OF DATABASES ON FOOD
CONSUMPTION............................................... 67
IV.2 COMPARISON OF SAMPLE SIZES IN THE 1977-78 NFCS AND
1987-88NFCS ................................................. 82
V.1 EXAMPLES OF FNS' RESEARCH PROJECTS, PROBLEMS OF
USING THE 1987-88 NFCS FOR THOSE PROJECTS, AND
ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF DATA ............................ 114
VI.1 EXAMPLES OF FNS' RESEARCH PROJECTS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS ON WAYS TO MEET THEIR
DATANEEDS ............................................... 160
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