A comparison between the National Food Survey and the Family Expenditure Survey food expenditure data

Abstract

AbstractObjective:Household budget surveys (HBSs) have been used to assess nutritional information for epidemiological purposes. The agreement between this information and other comparable data needs to be examined. The aim of this project was to compare household food expenditure data between two British HBSs: the National Food Survey (NFS) and the Family Expenditure Survey (FES).Design:Household food expenditure data were compared between the NFS and the FES for the years from 1982 to 1993. Differences in expenditure were assessed by year, by household composition, by income group and by region; for trends across time for all households and for regional, household composition and income group variations.Setting:Great Britain.Subjects:Approximately 88 000 NFS households and 85 000 FES households surveyed between 1982 and 1993 were used in this analysis.Results:Marked differences between the food expenditure data provided by the two surveys were observed. Furthermore, differences in time trends were substantial, which can lead to different conclusions regarding changes in consumption patterns.Conclusions:There is no obvious reason for the differences in household food expenditure between the NFS and the FES. Methodological differences between the two surveys cannot provide a full explanation for these discrepancies. The NFS and FES are now merged into a single survey (the Expenditure and Food Survey). If HBSs are to be used for epidemiological purposes their validity needs to be established.