VEGENO is a 3-digit-numeric variable.

0: Never or less than 6 times per year
995: 995+ times
996: Not in Universe
997: Unknown-refused
998: Unknown-not ascertained
999: Unknown-don't know

Description

For sample adults 18 and over, VEGENO reports how many times the respondent ate vegetables other than salads, white potatoes, and beans in a specified time period. VEGNO should be used in conjunction with VEGETP, which reports the corresponding time unit stated by the respondent.

VEGENO is part of a series of variables initiated in 1987 related to food, food knowledge, and cancer.

Comparability

Prior to 2000, this specific question asked respondents about servings of vegetables they ate in the past week. Beginning in 2000, this variable is part of the general food frequency questionnaire, and respondents are asked about they usually ate in the past month. The structure of the responses beginning in 2000 excluding 2005 (recording number of times a food was consumed and the time unit associated with that frequency) makes it possible to compare response categories even with different recall periods. In 2005, this format of separate frequency and time units was not used; instead respondents' answers were organized into pre-defined categories. Researchers interested in using all years of available data may consider seeing the 2005 variable VEGMO, and modifying VEGENO and VEGETP to correspond to the pre-defined categories from 2005.

Changes in survey design (e.g., quarters in which the supplement was collected) may affect raw frequencies, but do not affect comparability of the variable. As always, data users should use the prescribed IPUMS NHIS weights.

The NHIS questionnaire was substantially redesigned in 2019 to introduce a different data collection structure and new content. For more information on changes in terminology, universes, and data collection methods beginning in 2019, please see the user note.

Universe

Availability

• 1992, 2000, 2010, 2015, 2022

Weights

• 1992, 2000, 2010, 2015, 2022 : SAMPWEIGHT