Modification of a food frequency questionnaire for use in African Americans in the rural South

Abstract

Experimental and anecdotal data suggest that dietary practices of African Americans in the rural South differ from those of other groups and regions of the US. Existing instruments that seek to assess long‐term dietary intake, such as food frequency questionnaires (FFQs), may not be sensitive to the dietary practices of African Americans in the rural South. This study used focus groups in African‐American men and women in Macon County, AL, to generate information about dietary practices, food preferences, and food preparation methods in this population to modify an existing FFQ – the Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ) from the National Cancer Institute. Based on the completed focus groups, examples of foods to be added to the modified DHQ include pig ears, pork neck bones, pork skin, purple hull peas, fried okra, succotash, cornbread in buttermilk, and fried cornbread. Examples of foods to be deleted include bagels, English muffins, low‐fat processed meats, soy‐based foods, egg substitutes, and sorbets and ices. Following modification of the DHQ, we will assess the validity of the modified DHQ by comparing nutrient intakes calculated from the modified DHQ to those calculated from multiple 3‐day food records and 24‐hour dietary recalls. We hypothesize that the modified FFQ created in this study will better reflect true dietary intake in this population, facilitating future epidemiologic studies of diet and disease risk.(Supported by NIH grant 2 U54 CA118948‐03)