The National Diet and Nutrition Survey programme (NDNS) is a joint initiative, established in 1992, between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) and the Department of Health. Responsibility for the programme transferred from MAFF to the Food Standards Agency on the latter's establishment in April 2000.

The NDNS programme aims to provide a comprehensive cross-sectional picture of the dietary habits and nutritional status of the population of Great Britain. It also contributes to the health monitoring programme set out in the Government's White Paper, Saving lives: our healthier nation. The NDNS programme is divided into four separate age groups: children aged 1.5 years to 4.5 years (held at the UK Data Archive under SN 3481); young people aged 4 to 18 years (SN 4243); people aged 65 years and over (SN 4036), and adults aged 19 to 64 years (SN 5140).

The survey of adults aged 19 to 64 years aimed to collect data on diet through a questionnaire and a seven-day weighed intake record for a nationally representative sample living in private households in Great Britain. The study also included a seven-day bowel movement record, a seven-day physical activity diary, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, a 24-hour urine sample and a blood sample. The Food Standards Agency nutrient databank, which is used to convert food weights into nutrient intake, has also been deposited with this study.

2,251 respondents completed the dietary interview and 1,724 the seven-day dietary record.

Two groups of datasets are included in the study: primary datasets containing data in the format originally collected, and derived datasets. These can be downloaded as SPSS, Stata or in tab-delimited format.

The primary data includes dietary data from the food diary at four levels: person level, day level (seven days were collected per diary), container level (this is a group of foods consumed together at the same serving) and food item level. Also included are data from the seven-day physical activity diary for and the keyed anthropometric and blood pressure data. There is also a file of blood and urine analyte data and a copy of the Food Standards Agency nutrient database which is used to convert food weights into nutrient intake.

The derived datasets provided include average nutrient intake for each person, intake of food sub-groups, nutrient intakes at the food item level and average daily intake of each of 55 nutrients from different food types. In addition, files are provided containing the key derived variables for the initial dietary interview, blood and urinary analytes, physical measurements and variables derived from the physical activity diary data.