NJ Office of the Food Security Advocate

Development of New Measures to Assess Household Nutrition Security, and Choice in Dietary Characteristics

Calloway et al. (2022) conducted a nationwide study of households at risk for food insecurity in the United States from January 2020 to December 2021. After identifying measurement gaps, they developed three measures (nutrition security, healthfulness choice, and dietary choice) to assess nutrition security and choice in dietary characteristics. Calloway and colleagues found that households with higher scores for the new measures were associated with having fewer external constraints limiting their ability to acquire and choose foods based on healthfulness and preferences. While the findings of this study support the reliability and construct validity of the new measures with the convenience sample surveyed, further assessment is necessary. Pending further testing with more representative samples, Calloway and colleagues envision these new measures as tools that can be utilized to better understand households’ limitations for accessing healthful foods that meet their preferences in various environments.


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