Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS)

  • Updated on Oct 9, 2025
  • Published on Jul 17, 2025
  • 1 minute(s) read
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The Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) is a tool used to measure the variety of foods consumed by a household over the previous 24 hours. It reflects access to a range of foods and is a proxy indicator for household food security.

The HDDS is calculated by asking whether any member of the household consumed food from 12 specific food groups, such as cereals, vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy, and legumes. Each food group consumed scores one point, and the total score ranges from 0 to 12.

A higher HDDS generally indicates better economic access to food and greater dietary diversity, which is associated with improved nutrition and health outcomes.

Available Resources

Please find below the resources that will help you collect, analyze, and report on the HDDS indicator:

Technical Guidance Note

Review FANTA’s guidelines on how to accurately implement the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) indicator. The guidance is currently translated into three languages.

Questionnaire Modules

Download the standard questionnaire module in Word format.

XLS Form

Access the XLS form designed in WFP Survey Designer. The form includes the standard naming codes and can be converted to ODK for consistent data collection across mobile and web platforms.

Training Presentation

A training presentation on HDDS for use by enumerators, VAM and M&E staff is available in the following languages:

Scripts and Sample Data

The standard calculation scripts for calculating the HHDS are currently available in the following formats.

Sample data is also available on GitHub for simulation analysis.

Additional Resources

  • The Data Quality Guidance provides practical steps to maintain data quality across all phases of evidence generation cycle

  • For more context, refer to the CRF indicator sheet, which provides detailed information about how the indicator integrates with food security analysis frameworks

For more information, please contact the Assessments and Targeting Unit in HQ VAM at global.assessmentandtargeting@wfp.org.