Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-fqc5m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T18:26:56.772Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Validity of a short food frequency questionnaire for estimating nutrient intake in elderly people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

C. C. Horwath
Affiliation:
Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Nutrient intakes estimated using a short self-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were compared with results obtained from five 2 d diet records using household measures in a group of fifty-three elderly people (mean age 70 years) in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1989. Mean intakes for most nutrients were less than 5% different between the two methods. Correlations between the nutrient intake values (excluding supplements) from the diet records and those from the FFQ ranged from 0·34 for Zn in women to more than 0·75 for protein, Zn and Ca in men. For most nutrients, at least 70% of the subjects when classified by the food records fell into the same quintile or into the within-one- quintile category when classified by the FFQ. These data indicate that in elderly subjects a simple self- administered semi-quantitative FFQ can provide very similar information (for both group and individual intakes for many nutrients) to that obtained from 10 d of careful diet recording.

Type
Food and Nutrition intakes of Populations
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1993

References

REFERENCES

Baghurst, K. I. & Record, S. J. (1983). Intake and sources, in selected Australian subpopulations, of dietary constituents implicated in the aetiology of chronic diseases. Journal of Food and Nutrition 40, 115.Google Scholar
Baghurst, K. I. & Record, S. J. (1984). A computerised dietary analysis system for use with diet diaries or food frequency questionnaires. Community Health Studies 8, 1118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baghurst, K. I. & Record, S. J. (1987). The vitamin and mineral intake of a free-living young elderly Australian population in relation to total diet and supplementation practices. Human Nutriiion Applied Nutrition 41A, 327337.Google Scholar
Balogh, M., Medalie, J. H., Smith, H. & Groen, J. J. (1968). The development of a dietary questionnaire for an ischaemic heart disease survey. Israeli Journal of Medical Science 4, 195203.Google Scholar
Birkbeck, J. A. (1983). New Zealanders and their diet. A report to the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand on the National Diet Survey 1977. 2nd ed. Dunedin: University of Otago.Google Scholar
Block, G. (1982). A review of validations of dietary assessment methods. American Journal of Epidemiology 115, 492505.Google Scholar
Block, G., Hartman, A. M., Dresser, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Cannon, J. & Gardner, L. (1986). A data based approach to diet questionnaire design and testing. American Journal of Epidemiology 124, 453469.Google Scholar
Browe, J. H., Gofstein, R. M., Morlley, D. M. & McCarthy, M. C. (1966). Diet and heart disease study in the cardiovascular health centre. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 48, 95108.Google Scholar
Campbell, V. A. & Dodds, M. L. (1967). Collecting dietary information from groups of older people. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 51, 2935.Google Scholar
Epstein, L. M., Rfeshef, A., Abramson, J. H. & Bialik, O. (1970). Validity of a short dietary questionnaire. Israel Journal of Medical Sciences 6, 589596.Google Scholar
Flegal, K. M. & Larkin, F. A. (1990). Partitioning macronutrient intake estimates from a food frequency questionnaire. American Journal of Epidemiology 131, 10461058.Google Scholar
Guthrie, H. A. (1984). Selection and quantification of typical food portions by young adults. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 84, 1440, 1444.Google Scholar
Horwath, C. C. (1989). Dietary survey of a large random sample of elderly people: energy and nutrient intakes. Nutrition Research 9, 479492.Google Scholar
Horwath, C. C., Campbell, A. J. & Busby, W. (1992). Dietary survey of an elderly New Zealand population. Nutrition Research 12, 441453.Google Scholar
Horwath, C. C. & Worsley, A. (1990). Assessment of the validity of a food frequency questionnaire as a measure of food use by comparison with direct observation of domestic food stores. American Journal of Epidemiology 131, 10591067.Google Scholar
Jackson, N., Little, J. & Wilson, A. D. (1990). Comparison of diet history interview and self completed questionnaire in assessment of diet in an elderly population. Journal of Epidemiology and Communiry Health 44, 162169.Google Scholar
Jain, M. G., Harrison, L., Howe, G. R. & Miller, A. B. (1982). Evaluation of a self-administered dietary questionnaire for use in a cohort study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 36, 931935.Google Scholar
Kelsey, J. L., O'Brien, L. A., Grisso, J. A. & Hoffman, S. (1989). Issues in carrying out epidemiologic research in the elderly. American Journal of Epidemiology 130, 857867.Google Scholar
Maclure, M. & Willett, W. C. (1987). Misinterpretation and misuse of the kappa statistic. American Journal of Epidemiology 126, 161169.Google Scholar
Marr, J. W. & Heady, J. A. (1986). Within and between person variation in dietary surveys: number of days needed to classify individuals. Human Nutrition Applied Nutrition 40A, 347364.Google Scholar
Milligan, G. C., Webster, D. W. & Burlingame, B. A. (1991). The New Zealand Food Composition Tables. Wellington: Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.Google Scholar
Nelson, M., Black, A. E., Morris, J. A. & Cole, T. J. (1989). Between- and within-subject variation in nutrient intake from infancy to old age: estimating the number of days required to rank dietary intakes with desired precision. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 155167.Google Scholar
Nelson, M., Hague, G. F., Cooper, C. & Bunker, V. W. (1988). Calcium intake in the elderly: validation of a dietary questionnaire. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 1, 115127.Google Scholar
Pietinen, P., Hartman, A. M., Haapa, E., Rasanen, L., Haapakoski, J., Palmgren, J., Albanes, D., Virtamo, J. & Huttunen, J. K. (1988). Reproducibility and validity of dietary assessment instruments. I. A self-administered food use questionnaire with a portion size picture booklet. American Journal of Epidemiology 128, 655666.Google Scholar
Pietinen, P., Hartman, A. M., Haarpa, E., Rasanen, L., Haapakoski, J., Palmgren, J., Albanes, D., Virtamo, J. & Huttunen, J. K. (1988). Reproducibility and validity of dietary assessment instruments. 2. A qualitative food frequency questionnaire. American Journal of Epidemiology 128, 661676.Google Scholar
Rapp, S. R., Dubbert, P. M., Burkett, P. A. & Buttross, Y. (1986). Food portion size estimation by men with type I1 diabetes. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 86, 249251.Google Scholar
Samet, J. M., Humble, C. G. & Skipper, B. E. (1984). Alternatives in the collection and analysis of food frequency interview data. American Journal of Epidemiology 120, 572581.Google Scholar
Trulson, M. F. & McCann, M. B. (1959). Comparison of dietary survey methods. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 35, 672.Google Scholar
Willett, W. C., Reynolds, R. D., Cottrell-Hoehner, S., Sampson, L. & Browne, M. L. (1987). Validation of a semi. quantitative food frequency questionnaire: comparison with a I-year diet record. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 81, 4347.Google Scholar
Willett, W. C., Sampson, L., Stampfer, M. J., Rosner, B., Bain, C., Witschi, J., Hennekens, C. H. & Speizer, F. E. (1985). Reproducibility and validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. American Journal qf Epidemiology 122, 5165.Google Scholar
Wilson, N. C., Russell, D. G., Paulin, J. M., Hopkins, W., Horwath, C. C., Mann, J., Nye, T., Parnell, W., Spears, G., Wilson, B., Worsley, T., Cushman, G., Laidler, A. & Birkbeck, J. (1990). Life in New Zealand Summary Report. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago.Google Scholar