What consumers eat 11 2.3.2 Household budget surveys The household budget surveys(HBSs) are periodically conducted by the National Statistical Offices of most European countries in nationally representative samples of households. By recording the values and quantities of household food purchases, the HBSs can adequately depict the dietary patterns prevailing in rep resentative population samples. Moreover, the concurrent recording of demo- graphic and socio-economic characteristics of the household members may allow exploratory analyses on the evaluation of their effects on dietary choices. One of the main advantages of the multi-purpose HBSs is their periodic undertaking by Governmental Services, making them a readily available and thus an afford- able source of dietary information in developed and developing countries lou,1992) The HBSs can be thought of as occupying a position between the FBSs and the specially designed individual food consumption surveys. Like food balance sheets, the HBSs allow intercountry comparisons on a regular basis but, moving from total population to household level, they further allow the calculation of both the mean and the distribution of food availability within the population and specific subgroups(Trichopoulou et al, 1999) Issues of comparability can be raised when using HBS data for international omparisons. The data collection methodology is uniform enough to allow such comparisons, but the food information recorded in the various countries may be of different forms and levels of detail. The methodology, however, for address ing these discrepancies has been developed in the context of the DAta Food NE yorking ( DAFNE) project(Lagiou et al, 2001; Friel et al, 2001). However, since HBSs are not primarily designed to collect nutritional information, the food data bear limitations, which need to be considered when they are used for nutritional purposes(van Staveren et al, 1991; Southgate, 1991; Trichopoulou, 1992). The its should be bor In most cases, no records are collected on the type and quantity of food items ind beverages consumed outside the home Information on food losses and waste, food given to pets, meals offered to guests, use of vitamin and mineral supplements and the presence of pregnant or lactating women is not consistently collected Data are collected at household level and estimation of the individuals intake requires the application of stochastic statistical models Information on nutrient intake is not readily available. Nevertheless, appro- priate conversion factors based on food composition tables are developed for converting quantity data into nutrients Despite their limitations, the HBSs provide a resource for the conduct of a vide range of nutritional analyses. They also constitute a reasonable alternative to specially designed individual-based nutrition surveys for most Mediterranean and central/eastern European countries. HBS data could help highlight issues uch as differences in dietary patterns(Byrd-Bredbenner et al, 2000), high risk population groups on account of their nutritional habits, relationships between2.3.2 Household budget surveys The household budget surveys (HBSs) are periodically conducted by the National Statistical Offices of most European countries in nationally representative samples of households. By recording the values and quantities of household food purchases, the HBSs can adequately depict the dietary patterns prevailing in rep￾resentative population samples. Moreover, the concurrent recording of demo￾graphic and socio-economic characteristics of the household members may allow exploratory analyses on the evaluation of their effects on dietary choices. One of the main advantages of the multi-purpose HBSs is their periodic undertaking by Governmental Services, making them a readily available and thus an afford￾able source of dietary information in developed and developing countries (Trichopoulou, 1992). The HBSs can be thought of as occupying a position between the FBSs and the specially designed individual food consumption surveys. Like food balance sheets, the HBSs allow intercountry comparisons on a regular basis but, moving from total population to household level, they further allow the calculation of both the mean and the distribution of food availability within the population and specific subgroups (Trichopoulou et al, 1999). Issues of comparability can be raised when using HBS data for international comparisons. The data collection methodology is uniform enough to allow such comparisons, but the food information recorded in the various countries may be of different forms and levels of detail. The methodology, however, for address￾ing these discrepancies has been developed in the context of the DAta Food NEt￾working (DAFNE) project (Lagiou et al, 2001; Friel et al, 2001). However, since HBSs are not primarily designed to collect nutritional information, the food data bear limitations, which need to be considered when they are used for nutritional purposes (van Staveren et al, 1991; Southgate, 1991; Trichopoulou, 1992). The following points should be borne in mind: • In most cases, no records are collected on the type and quantity of food items and beverages consumed outside the home. • Information on food losses and waste, food given to pets, meals offered to guests, use of vitamin and mineral supplements and the presence of pregnant or lactating women is not consistently collected. • Data are collected at household level and estimation of the individuals’ intake requires the application of stochastic statistical models. • Information on nutrient intake is not readily available. Nevertheless, appro￾priate conversion factors based on food composition tables are developed for converting quantity data into nutrients. Despite their limitations, the HBSs provide a resource for the conduct of a wide range of nutritional analyses. They also constitute a reasonable alternative to specially designed individual-based nutrition surveys for most Mediterranean and central/eastern European countries. HBS data could help highlight issues such as differences in dietary patterns (Byrd-Bredbenner et al, 2000), high risk population groups on account of their nutritional habits, relationships between What consumers eat 11