The changes that have been happening in the Brazilian epidemiological scenario in the last decades result from deep social and economic modifications that include, among other things, changes in dietary habits. In Brazil, the only study that investigated family food consumption nationally was the National Family Expenditure Study done from 1974 to 1975. Although useful, national food consumption studies are expensive and only a few countries can conduct them regularly. Nonetheless, household budget surveys are important sources of data on the availability of food at home determined by records of foods purchased. Recent changes in consumption habits, particularly eating out, limit the use of data from household budget surveys to estimate food intake. Thus, the Brazilian government suggested that the next household budget survey to be done in 2008-2009 include a module on individual food consumption. Information on individual food intake will be used to supplement the data regarding food purchases. The objective of this study is to report the development of the methodology to be used in the module of individual food consumption of the household budget survey of 2008-2009. Budget data will be combined with intake data to estimate the usual individual food consumption.
Food consumption; Nutritional epidemiology; Food habits; Diet surveys; Budgets
