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This dataset contains Adult Male Equivalent (AME) values for use in Bangladesh. These were constructed using prescriptive nutritional constructs adapted to the actual growth and weight pattern seen in Bangladesh. This dataset provides a common base to facilitate for future work with household consumption and expenditure data in Bangladesh while updating the average energy requirements for infants and young children for the WHO 2006 growth standards and 2007 growth reference curves.

Background. The constrained evidence base of food and nutrition policy-making compromises nutrition programs. Nutrition policy-making must do better than relying exclusively on Food and Agriculture Organization Food Balance Sheets. The strategy of relying on observedweighed food record or 24-hour recall surveys has not proven practical either; they remain few in number, generally not nationally representative, and of dubious external validity. Although Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) have shortcomings, they are increasingly being used to address this information gap. Objective. To promote dialog within the nutrition community, and between it and the greater community of HCES stakeholders, in order to identify their shared agenda and develop a strategy to improve HCES for analyzing food and nutrition issues. Methods. The diverse origins and objectives of HCES are described, the evolution of their use in addressing food and nutrition issues is traced, and their shortcomings are identified. Results. The causes, relative importance, some potential solutions, and the strategic implications of three distinct categories of shortcomings are discussed. Elements of a possible approach and process for strengthening the surveys are outlined, including identifying best practices, developing guidelines and more rigorously analyzing the tradeoffs involved in common, key survey design and implementation decisions. Conclusions. To date, the nutrition community's role in most HCES has been as a passive user of secondary data. The nutrition community must become more involved in the design, implementation, and analysis of HCES by identifying criteria for prioritizing countries, establishing assessment criteria, applying the criteria in retrospective assessments, identifying key shortcomings, and recommending alternatives to ameliorate the shortcomings. Several trends suggest that this is a propitious time for improving the relevance and reliability of HCES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) are routinely conducted in several countries on nationally representative samples, often on a regular basis. The HCES have been considered as a potential alternative to more expensive surveys of individuals' food intakes for use in nutritional assessment and in planning programs such as food fortification. HCES gather information on household food availability (purchased, produced, or received as gifts) and use over a given period of time, often the past week or month. Objective. To discuss the potential usefulness of HCES consumption data for nutritional assessment and planning for populations of households and individuals within the households. Conclusions. There are several limitations to the HCES, most notably the difficulty of estimating the intrahousehold allocation of foods and therefore of quantifying the actual food intake of individual household members. Another concern is the lack of information on the variability of consumption over time, making it difficult to estimate the distribution of usual consumption, and thus the prevalence of nutrient inadequacies or excesses. Other potential limitations might be addressed by improvements to the HCES questionnaires, such as including information on foods that are available but not consumed and those that are consumed outside the home. Research is needed to better understand both the strengths and the weaknesses of the HCES data when used to assess and plan intakes at the household and individual levels [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The benefits of food fortification depend on the proportion of the population that uses the fortified food (coverage), the amount of the food being consumed, and the additional content of micronutrients in the food. Coverage and amounts consumed can be determined by 24-hour recall or Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs). However, these methods are rarely applied. Secondary analysis of data from Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) can be used for these purposes; however, such data analysis has not been validated. Objective. To compare the results of HCES and 24-hour recall for estimating the consumption profile of potential fortification vehicles in Uganda. Methods. Food intake estimates for 24- to 59-monthold children and 15- to 49-year-old women derived from a one-day 24-hour recall carried out in Uganda (Kampala, North, and Southwest) were compared with data from two HCES (2006, nationwide, and 2008, coupled with the 24-hour recall). The analyzed foods were vegetable oil, sugar, wheat flour, maize flour, and rice. Results. Food consumptio`n estimates calculated from HCES may be less accurate than estimates derived by 24-hour recall. Nevertheless, the HCES results are sensitive enough to differentiate consumption patterns among population strata. In Uganda, HCES predicted proportion of the population that consumes the foods, and approximated intakes of main food vehicles by the "observed" consumers (those who reported using the foods), although estimates for the latter were lower for wheat flour and rice Conclusions. HCES data offer the basic information needed to provide a rationale for, and help design, food fortification programs. Individual intake surveys are still needed, however, to assess intrahousehold use of foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Micronutrient malnutrition, caused largely by inadequate dietary intake, is a global public health problem that adversely affects health, child growth and development, work capacity, and quality of life. Mass fortification of widely consumed edible products has the potential to increase micronutrient intakes and thus alleviate some nutritional deficiencies. Although individuallevel data about food consumption patterns are ideal for informing the design of food fortification programs, they are often unavailable. Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) are nationally representative cross-sectional surveys conducted over a 12-month period every 2 to 5 years, primarily to characterize household expenditures. Objective. We describe how expenditure data from HCES can serve as a proxy for household food consumption and thus aid in choosing which foods to fortify and in determining how much of a micronutrient to add to that food. Methods. We describe methods of using HCES data to characterize apparent food consumption patterns among different strata within a population. Results. There are several limitations of using HCES data to describe apparent food consumption. HCES do not directly capture information about true food intake, but rather describe food expenditures. We assume that purchased foods are not shared with guests, wasted, fed to animals, gifted, or stockpiled for later use. We also assume that foods are allocated within each household based on energy needs Conclusions. Despite the limitations of using HCES data to estimate apparent food consumption, the dearth of individual-level data about food intake renders HCES data useful in designing food fortification programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The dearth of 24-hour recall and observedweighed food record data--what most nutritionists regard as the gold standard source of food consumption data--has long been an obstacle to evidence-based food and nutrition policy. There have been a steadily growing number of studies using household food acquisition and consumption data from a variety of multipurpose, nationally representative household surveys as a proxy measure to overcome this fundamental information gap. Objective. To describe the key characteristics of these increasingly available Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) in order to help familiarize food and nutrition analysts with the strengths and shortcomings of these data and thus encourage their use in low- and middle-income countries; and to identify common shortcomings that can be readily addressed in the near term in a country-by-country approach, as new HCES are fielded, thereby beginning a process of improving the potential of these surveys as sources of useful data for better understanding food- and nutritionrelated issues. Methods. Common characteristics of key food and nutrition information that is available in HCES and some basic common steps in processing HCES data for food and nutrition analyses are described. Results. The common characteristics of these surveys are documented, and their usefulness in addressing major food and nutrition issues, as well as their shortcomings, is demonstrated. Conclusions. Despite their limitations, the use of HCES data constitutes a generally unexploited opportunity to address the food consumption information gap by using survey data that most countries are already routinely collecting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Information on dietary intake is essential for the assessment, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of nutritional interventions. A number of methods are available, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Dietary intake records, 24-hour recalls, and Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs) determine food consumption and nutrient intakes of populations based on individual assessment; few countries have such data at national or regional levels. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Balance Sheets (FBS) and food industry data, available in most countries, permit calculations of per capita food consumption but do not provide data on individual consumption. Household Consumption and Expenditures Surveys (HCES) are available for most countries and provide data that can be used to calculate consumption of fortification vehicles and to estimate additional intakes of micronutrients delivered through them to specific population groups. Objective. To introduce the reader to the set of papers included in this Supplement reviewing methods and experience with HCES to inform nutrition, and specifically food fortification programs. Methods. The Monitoring, Assessment, and Data (MAD) working group and colleagues critically reviewed experiences in estimating dietary intakes, focusing on the use of secondary analysis of HCES. Results. HCES predict coverage of the population that consumes a fortification vehicle and consumed amounts of fortification vehicles. HCES allow comparisons of different population strata and may also approximate micronutrient adequacy, based on nutrient density, at the household level. Conclusions. HCES are useful to inform food fortification and other nutrition programs for planning interventions, but further work is necessary. Currently, combined use of traditional dietary surveys is needed for assessment and for program monitoring and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]