Kostdata

Kostdata is a term used in nutrition informatics to denote data related to dietary intake. It encompasses information about what individuals or populations eat and drink, as well as the nutrients and energy they obtain from their diet. Typical components include foods and beverages consumed, portion sizes, frequency of consumption, total energy intake, macronutrient and micronutrient values, and patterns such as meal timing and dietary diversity.

Data sources and collection methods include 24-hour dietary recalls, prospective dietary records, food frequency questionnaires, and national health surveys. Digital tools such as mobile dietary apps, barcode scanners, and image-based meal assessment are increasingly used to supplement traditional methods. To convert what is reported into nutrient values, kostdata is linked to food composition databases and standardized food classifications. Common coding systems used to classify foods and enable comparability include LanguaL and EU FoodEx2, among others.

Applications include estimation of population nutrient intakes, investigation of diet-disease relationships, development of dietary guidelines and nutrition policies, and personalization of clinical nutrition recommendations. Kostdata also supports epidemiological studies, dietary surveillance, and quality improvement programs in healthcare.

Challenges include measurement error from self-report, misreporting of portions, recall bias, and missing data. Interoperability across studies requires harmonized data models and controlled vocabularies. Privacy and informed consent are considerations when collecting individual-level dietary data.

Related topics include nutrition data, dietary assessment methods, food composition databases, and data standards such as nutrition ontology efforts and interoperability frameworks.