NCC Home > Mission and History

Mission

The Nutrition Coordinating Center's mission is to develop, provide, and support state-of-the-art methods and databases for researchers for the collection and analysis of dietary data.

History

The NCC Food and Nutrient Database and analysis system was created for cardiovascular disease research. Initiated by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for use in two historically significant national collaborative research programs, the system has evolved to meet the diverse needs of the nutrition research community. Through grant awards, NHLBI has continued to provide partial funding to support core NCC work.

• 1974 - NCC developed a mainframe computer-based food coding and nutrient analysis system in collaboration with NHLBI and outside experts in nutrition, statistics, computer science and education. The system support food and nutrient analysis for the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) and the Lipid Research Clinics (LRC).


• 1977 - NCC services were made available to other researchers studying the impact of diet and nutrition on various health conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, age-related eye disease, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome.


• 1988 - NCC released the Nutrition Data System (NDS), a DOS-based software program designed to provide a standardized interview and direct data entry for collection of dietary intake. For the first time, coding of foods and amounts was computerized providing immediate calculation of nutrient data.


• 1996 - NCC staff completed collaborative work with the National Center for Health Statistics to develop a customized database and software for collecting 24-hour recalls from over 30,000 Americans for the 3rd National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).


• 1998 - NCC released the Nutrition Data System for Research (NDSR), a Windows-based software program providing a standardized interview, multiple-pass methodology, direct data entry, immediate calculation of nutrient data, and versatile output capabilities.


• 2005 - NCC released the Nutrition Data System for Research with Fluoride (NDSR Fluoride). Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and NHLBI, NCC worked collaboratively with the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory to provide a tool designed to work with the existing NDSR, capable of assessing intake of fluoride from dietary and non-dietary sources.


• 2007 - NCC released the Dietary Supplement Assessment Module (DSAM), an optional tool designed to expand NDSR for the assessment of dietary supplement use. This work was funded by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements and NHLBI.