Usual Energy Intake from Solid Fats, Alcoholic Beverages & Added Sugars (SoFAAS) (kcals)

This section provides information on population distributions of energy intakes from solid fats, alcoholic beverages and added sugars (SoFAAS). These sources of energy comprise a major portion of the discretionary calories consumed by the US population.

We have applied NCI's method of estimating usual intakes to data from two recent cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative sample, to estimate means and percentiles of the distributions of usual SoFAAS intakes for a range of sex-age groups in the US population.

• Methods
• Results
• Selected Findings
• Acknowledgements

Methods

Dietary data were obtained from the 2001-2004 NHANES. The data were collected via two 24-hour recalls from 17,889 persons 1 year of age and older. Further information regarding the design and methodology used in the 2001-04 NHANES is available from the CDC.

Intakes reported on the recalls were translated into quantities of solid fats, alcoholic beverages, and added sugars using the MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED) 1.0, which was developed for the 2001-02 survey, and MPED 2.0 which was developed for the 2003-04 survey. This analysis does not account for the differences in data collection and processing procedures during the 2001-2004 time period.

The NCI method of estimating usual nutrient intake distributions was used, as SoFAAS are consumed almost every day by everyone in the population.

Reported SoFAAS and energy intake were first mathematically transformed to approximate normality using Box-Cox (power) transformations. Dietary recalls tend to be different depending on whether they are the first or second report from an individual (the "sequence") and whether the reported day was a weekday or weekend. In this analysis, the joint distribution of Box-Cox transformed SoFAAS and energy was modeled, correcting for sequence and weekend/weekday effects and based on sex/age group. Means and percentiles of the distribution of the ratio of usual SoFAAS intake to usual energy intake were then estimated. Analyses were conducted for the entire population and for a range of sex-age subgroups. The method uses the survey sampling weights to adjust estimates for the complex sampling design and nonresponse.

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Results

The first table shows the mean, standard error of the mean, and percentiles of the distribution of intake for each percentage, by sex/age group. The second table provides percentile values and their standard errors.

There is no explicit recommendation for the percentage of calories coming from solid fats, alcohol and added sugars (SoFAAS). These sources of energy count against the discretionary calorie allowance, as do intakes in excess of the recommended amounts of any of the food groups. Discretionary calorie allowances in MyPyramid range from 171 to 512 calories per day, depending on the individual's sex, age and activity level, and are highest for very active individuals. (Note, however, that activity levels of most people in the US population fall short of even minimum recommendations.)

Seventy-five percent or more of the individuals in each subgroup consume more energy from SoFAAS than the maximum discretionary calorie allowance for their sex/age subgroup. Recall that intakes of other food groups in excess of recommendations also count against the discretionary calorie allowance. Therefore, excessive intakes of discretionary calories are of concern for most individuals in all sex-age groups.

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Acknowledgements

The following individuals represent the team who developed the NCI Method and produced this analysis:

• Susan M. Krebs-Smith¹
• Douglas Midthune¹
• Patricia M. Guenther²
• Dennis W. Buckman³
• Raymond J. Carroll⁴
• Laurence S. Freedman⁵
• Victor Kipnis¹
• Amy F. Subar¹
• Janet A. Tooze⁶
• Kevin W. Dodd¹

¹ National Cancer Institute
² USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
³ Information Management Services, Inc.
⁴ Texas A&M University
⁵ Gertner Institute for Epidemiology
⁶ Wake Forest University School of Medicine

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