Methodologic Considerations in Descriptive Food-Consumption Surveys in Developing Countries

Abstract

This paper reviews some methodologic issues relative to food-consumption studies in developing countries, including sampling considerations; capturing temporal variation in food consumption; choice of dietary instruments and protocols; and food-composition databases and needs for adequate software interfaces. Increasingly, issues of cross-country and regional comparability in food-consumption data are now coming into the decision mix. Comparability of data across countries requires comparability of several fundamental systems. Specific countries and cultural contexts must tackle problems of how to estimate individual intakes when one-dish serving is the norm; how to keep up with rapidly changing food supplies; how to capture ingredients added at the table that may be concentrated sources of nutrients or other components of interest; and how to document out-of-home eating. Assumptions about error, bias, and intra-individual variation in food intake need to be thoroughly tested in developing-country contexts. There is an urgent need for improvement in the availability of appropriate food-composition databases and software interfaces for developing-country use.