To make it possible for investigators, no matter what their level of training or expertise in dietary assessment, to incorporate the best data collection methods in their studies at reasonable cost.
The Nutrition Assessment shared resource (NASR) provides comprehensive support to investigators who include dietary assessment in their research protocols. Nutritional epidemiologists at Fred Hutch established this resource in 1993, which to date has provided support to hundreds of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health. NASR is part of Collaborative Data Services, which provides technical support in the areas of project management and implementation, custom programming, and data management.
NASR uses the University of Minnesota’s Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) software for data entry and nutrient analysis. This is the most accurate and comprehensive software available for nutrition research.
The 24-hour dietary recall is an in-depth interview that collects detailed information on all foods and beverages consumed by a participant during the previous 24 hours. These recalls are best administered unannounced (not scheduled on a specific day) so that participants do not change their eating habits in anticipation of the interview.
A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a finite list of foods and beverages with response options to indicate usual frequency of consumption (and, in some cases, portion size) over a specified time period. It is the most common dietary assessment tool used in large epidemiologic studies of diet and health.
Short questionnaires to assess the consumption of specific foods and/or specific food-related behaviors have been developed and are available for use in research studies. Please contact us at nasr@fredhutch.org to obtain permission and pricing information.
NASR uses the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR) developed by the Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC) at the University of Minnesota for the collection of 24-hour dietary recalls and the analysis of food records, menus, and recipes. In addition, the database for the food frequency questionnaires developed by Fred Hutch is based on the nutrient strings in NDSR.
NDSR uses the United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database for Standard Reference and its periodic revisions as the primary data source and is supplemented by information from the scientific literature and food manufacturers. The output provides values for 170+ nutrients, nutrient ratios, and other compounds.
Mailing Address:
Nutrition Assessment (NASR)
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N.
P.O. Box 19024
M1-B208
Seattle, WA 98109-1024
Pricing & Custom Services
Please contact us at nasr@fredhutch.org for pricing and custom services information.
Citing NASR
Please cite both NASR and NDSR software in publications describing research which uses our services. Learn more about citing NASR.
Publications Supported by NASR
A list of publications supported by NASR can be found here.