THE NEED FOR IMPROVED METHODS OF DIET ASSESSMENT FOR DEVELOPING AND MONITORING FOOD POLICY IN EASTERN-EUROPE

There is increasing evidence that diseases of major public health impo rtance are causally related to nutritional imbalance. Development of n utrition policy to improve the nutritional status of a population requ ires reliable information about food consumption and its impact on the health of the population. Available methods are useful but not accura te enough. Assessment of the nutritional status of representative samp les of the general population requires improved methods of dietary int ake assessment. A combination of different methods provides more relia ble information than the use of a single method. For example, comparis on of food balance sheets and households budget surveys provides more useful information than either method alone. An international effort s hould be undertaken to identify reliable methods of dietary assessment suitable for all countries. Because the development of new methods wo uld be time consuming, efforts should be focused on the selection of e xisting methods, their improvement, standardization, and implementatio n. International organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organi zation and the World Health Organization should give high priority to the improvement of methods useful in nutritional epidemiological studi es.